


Breaking Point

by TheDoctorMulder



Series: Breaking Point [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Multi, OT3, Other, Polyamory, Pre-OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-18 00:06:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 86,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2328062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorMulder/pseuds/TheDoctorMulder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The wall between dimensions is closing faster than anyone thought it would. This is the story of what happens when they never make it back to Pete's World. AU Journey's End. Eventual OT3 RoseXDoctor Ten x Rose X Tentoo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jackie's Choice

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Before it Breaks](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1411891) by [Aeolist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeolist/pseuds/Aeolist). 



> This story was born of a need to see another ten/rose/tentoo story out there, but mine has a twist I haven't found in any others :)  
> Standard disclaimer: (These are so boring, aren't they?) I don't own, or have affiliation with Doctor Who, the BBC, or anything really, I'm freelance thank you much. No money made off of this. This is just a labor of love.

Chapter 1:  
Jackie's Choice

Jackie was mourning. She had just said a very permanent goodbye to Mickey, who had decided to stay in their original universe and start over. She had known Mickey his whole life, had even helped raise him. It was like losing a child.

Speaking of losing a child... her eyes drifted to her daughter, who was stroking the console absentmindedly. She was deep in thought and didn't even seem to notice that she was caressing that rough coral like a lover. Rose watched the Doctor in the brown, pinstriped suit walk out the doors with a worried look on her face. She then pulled her old phone from when she fell at Canary Wharf out, looked at it, and relaxed. Jackie thought that was an odd gesture, but then again, when had Rose ever been normal? Come to think of it, Rose was probably checking to be sure it still worked.

Her mind then turned to the fact that she had to think about what suit the Doctor was wearing, which made her look at the other Doctor. This was a whole new kind of weird, but then again, the man could change his face, who knows what else he could do? And Rose wasn't going to give details. Ever since that alien came into her daughter's life, she expected weirdness.

This other Doctor was wearing a blue suit, and-according to the explanation she heard earlier, this Doctor was part human. Her thoughts were broken when the door to the ship opened, and the fully Time Lord Doctor walked in the doors and up to the console saying, “Just time for one last trip.”

This was it. This was the moment she'd lose her daughter forever. But then a look passed between both Doctors, one full of anguish, the other full of fear and anger. It clicked in her head, and at once, she both wanted to smack the Doctor and hug him in joy.

The Doctor settled himself between Rose and Donna, took a look at the monitor, and said, “Dar- wait, what? No, no, no!”

“What is it?” Rose asked with a tinge of fear in her voice.

The new Doctor was over there in an instant, hand on Rose's shoulder, peering at the odd swirling lines, dots, and circles making up the written version of their language. “No, that's not good, that's very, very not good,” he said.

“What's 'not good'?” Rose pressed.

Both Doctors were looking at each other with worried looks. Jackie remembered that Rose had said he could know what another person was thinking under the right circumstances, and she wondered if that's what was happening. She called it tallie-pathee or something like that. The two Doctors hadn't actually said a word to one another yet, with the exception of right before they all had to run back into the TARDIS- and that was yelling. Maybe they didn't need to say anything to each other.

Both Doctors and Donna then turned to Jackie with almost identical expressions of grief on their faces.

“The cracks and holes in the skin of the universes have gotten too small to be able to pilot the TARDIS through them,” Donna explained in simple terms that Jackie would understand, “we can't get you home Jackie.”

She pulled out her hopper button, a silver and copper disc with a yellow button on it. “You weren't supposed to, you daft alien, I was gonna get back using my hopper here, now wasn't ….”

“Mum, don't, it won't work, and you're not gonna want to do...,” Rose interrupted.

Jackie started to panic. “Yes I do! Yes, it will, it has to!” before Rose could stop her, she pushed the button, but nothing happened. She pushed it again, harder this time, and again, nothing happened. “It just- Rose, give me yours, yours works with even the tiniest-!”

“The walls are closed, now Jackie,” Donna told her gently, “dimensional retro-closure is already complete. I'm sorry, but it won't work anym-”

“THEN TAKE ME TO WHEN IT WORKS!” Jackie shouted.

Rose grabbed her mother's arms gently, “Mum, it's doesn't work like-”

“Make. It. Work!” she shouted.

“I'm sorry, so sorry,” The Doctor in brown said, head hung.

“What about Tony and Pete!” Jackie cried out.

“Mum.”

“My little boy-”

“MUM!” Rose practically shouted, “Listen to me!” This startled Jackie into silence for a moment so Rose could say what she needed to say, “OK, now first of all, Remember what we learned when I tried to take that vortex manipulator back to the day of the battle? The walls of the universe aren't broken down at just one point in time, but in all points of time. Because the walls of the universe are closed in our time line, we cannot go back. The only safe way requires substantial cracks between the universes, and it could be-”

“I don't care how bloody long it could be, I'll wait forever while you work your alien mumbo jumbo to get me back home,” Jackie cut her off, her voice full of grief.

“Mum, Pete and Tony aren't over there anymore. They're here,” Rose told her, finally able to tell her mother the news.

Rose stopped for a moment to let that information soak in. Jackie's emotions were written plainly on her face. She went from deep grief, to confused, to tentative hope in two seconds. “I knew the walls would close fast, and you weren't supposed to come,” Rose continued, “but I knew that you'd come anyway, so I made some plans.”

Rose held up the cell phone. “He has the one we left with Mickey when we went there the first time, so we could contact each other. I got a text saying he was here, and I'm now waiting for information on where he's at right now.”

To say Jackie was relieved was an understatement. She was sure that she'd never see her son or husband ever again. Then a thought occurred to her. “Wait, what kind of plans?” she asked, “and how did you know I was going to come anyway?”

“That's a really good question, actually,” The Doctor in brown spoke up, sending a querying look to Rose. Rose glanced over to the other three people in the room, who had been uncharacteristically silent through this whole exchange.

“Pete and I got together after my first jump into this universe proper. We came up with an emergency pack just in case Mum decided to come here and weren't back by the time the walls started closing. Just things that couldn't be replaced and some clothes. As for how I knew, well, I was told that it was a strong possibility,” Rose hedged, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal.

“By who?” the Doctor in blue asked suspiciously.

Rose took a deep breath and steeled herself. She wasn't sure how the Doctor-either of him- was going to take this. “By myself,” she answered. Both Doctors and Donna had an expression of shock on their faces. They did not see that one coming. “You were there too,” she told the fully Time Lord Doctor, who wore a mask of confusion at her proclamation.

“'S a ontological paradox,” Rose explained as she dug through her jacket pocket for the piece of paper she kept in there. When she pulled it out, she handed it to the Doctor in the blue suit, who was closer. He unfolded and began reading it. “Sometime in my future, you,” she pointed to the fully Time Lord Doctor, “go and stop past me from getting back too soon. Then I hand myself that piece of paper. It's always nice to know you have a future.”

“You've got to, because you did! Brilliant!” Donna exclaimed.

The part human Doctor finished reading the letter with an impressed look on his face, and passed it on to his brown-suited counterpart. He looked at Rose with a smile and shook his head. “This explains a lot. You and your paradoxes. I'm starting to wonder if your whole existence is a paradox.” He chuckled a bit.

The brown suited Doctor finished reading the letter and settled his gaze on Rose, face thoughtful. He handed the letter back to her. “That's-” Rose never got to hear what he was going to say, because at that moment, her old phone rung shrilly, interrupting what the Doctor was going to say.

She answered the phone with, “figure out where you are yet?” she nodded, smiled, and said, “OK I know exactly where that is, see ya in a bit,” and hung up.

She looked over at the Doctors, who were standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. They both knew that was Pete calling with his location and were waiting to hear where he was. “That was Dad. He and Tony are at that chippy we went to after the end of the world.”

Both Doctors look confused for a split second, then the one in the blue suit grinned in realization. The one in the brown suit went, “welll, then, let's not keep good ol' Peter Tyler waiting! Quick hop across London, coming right up.” He then stode over to the monitor and began setting coordinates. Both of them and Donna started piloting the TARDIS over to the chippy.

He flipped the de-materialization lever, and exclaimed, “Allonsy!”


	2. The Tyler Clan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunion with Pete

He flipped the de-materialization lever, and exclaimed, "Allonsy!"

"Oh, so that stuck then? I wondered if it would," mused Rose, who remembered a happier time right before running into Torchwood.

The Doctor in blue laughed and exclaimed, "Oh, yes!" as the TARDIS began the materialization sequence.

Rose couldn't stop herself from asking, "Did you ever get to meet an Alonzo?"

The Doctor in Brown looked up at Rose and exclaimed, "Yep!"

"You did it, didn't you? You said-"

"Allonsy Alonzo!" Rose and the Doctors all said together as the re-materialization sequence finished.

Jackie was a bit shell shocked, but this was absurd enough to pull her out of her thoughts and look at the three of them like they suddenly grew extra heads, which made Rose laugh. She muttered something about them being daft, but was cut off, because suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Donna, who was the closest to the door, walked over to it and opened it. "You must be Donna Noble. Hello, I'm Pete Tyler. I'm looking for Jackie and Rose?"

  
Donna smiled widely and opened the door wider. "Come right on in Pete. Rose and Jackie are right here. I'm sure they will be happy to see you."

Pete stepped inside, handed Tony to Jackie, who was crying softly, and took a quick look around. "Wow," he said in a rush of breath, then stepped back outside and walked around the TARDIS very quickly. The people inside heard him speaking in wonder. "It's one thing to know about it, another entirely to experience it."

Rose looked over at the Doctors, both of which had identical amused expressions on their faces. She loved this part, but had only seen it a couple of times.

Pete barely got in the door again before Jackie was on him with Tony in a three way hug. The little boy was tired and confused about the fuss, and no one was going to tell him that he could have lost his mother that day. Pete walked over to the jump seat, put Tony on it, and strode back over to his wife. He took Jackie's face in his hands. "Jacks, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Rose told you!" Pete was furious, but more glad that his wife was okay than anything else.

"I couldn't leave her, Pete, she wouldn't tell me what she was going up against, but she took the most powerful weapon she could!" Jackie defended herself.

"Which is why you should have stayed put, Jacks. You could have gotten yourself killed!" Pete closed his eyes for a moment and gathered himself before he continued. "Worked out for the best though, dinnit? We're all in one universe again. Just, please, don't ever do anything else like that..."

Rose tuned out of that conversation and brought her attention to Donna, who was sitting down on the jump seat next to Tony. "Hello Tony, I'm Donna..." she started. That conversation then proceeded right into the usual question and answer session that all three year olds have with adults they just met. Rose smiled and shook her head at the story Tony was telling Donna about how much he liked zeppelins.

She turned her gaze over at the Doctors. Both of them were standing near the console. The one in brown fiddled with things on the console near the monitor. The one in blue was on the opposite side, leaning against it, arms crossed and taking everyone's reunions and conversations in.

Pete then turned around to talk to the Doctor that was leaning against the console. Rose didn't catch any of that conversation though, because she had turned her focus to the Doctor that was over by the monitor. He was obviously brooding.

"Well, Doctor, it looks like we saved all of reality today. With no time to spare, as usual, but it all worked out all right," she said, grinning.

"Did it? Did it really?" His voice was soft, with a bit of grief in it. Rose thought she might know why, but just as she was about to say something about it, Pete interrupted so suddenly that that she jumped.

"Woah, I didn't know you had a twin. Hello, I'm Pete Tyler. What, wait. How do you have a twin with regeneration?" The Doctor then began to give Pete the same explanation that was given on the crucible.

Rose then wandered over closer to Tony and Donna. The two had been joined by Jackie and the other Doctor and were discussing airplanes and places they would like to live. Donna was showing off her newly acquired knowledge, but made it so that a 3 year old boy could understand.

Rose mused on the scene. This whole thing was terribly domestic, and she couldn't help but wonder what sort of rant her first Doctor would have gone on about her making the place domestic.

Since everyone was in one spot in the room, Jackie then turned conversation turned to matters at hand.

"So what are we gonna do now?" she asked. Everyone turned and looked at Rose.

"Why's everyone lookin' at me?" she wondered, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wellll, You do seem to be the one with the plan," the Doctor in the brown suit said.

"Plans tend to be rubbish. My plan ended with these three," she jerked her thumb at her mother, brother, and not quite dad, "all in the same universe at the end of the day," she said. "After that, I told myself nothing. It's so that there's as little as possible to mess up with the paradox."

"Can we go back to the estate, to where we left before?" Jackie asked.

"No," agreed Rose, both of the Doctors, and Donna - all at the same time.

Jackie looked between the four of them, each had a variation of the "no arguments" face. With Rose, the fully Time Lord Doctor, the part human Doctor, and this woman who held all of the Doctor's knowledge in her head all in perfect agreement, she wasn't going to argue with them. She did the only thing she could. She asked, "Why's that then?"

Rose started the explanation with, "We're on the list of the dead and missing, Mum. Remember me telling you that?"

"So just take us off the list, then-"

"Wellll, the TARDIS could hold the paradox, if-" the Doctor in Brown started, but was cut off by Donna.

"We can't, there are a lot of time lines affected. Yours, mine, Jack's, Martha's. Not to mention what might happen if the Master... " Both Doctors got a little paler and she trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. The memories weren't hers, but they hurt all the same.

"Plus there's the matter of Pete, who definitely has a grave, and a 3 year old boy," the blue suited Doctor pointed out once he recovered from the thoughts of what the Master would have done to Rose. "Really, it's best if you don't go back to London." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You wouldn't happen to have any preferences, would you?"

"What about pictures and things from the flat?" she asked. Realization then hit Jackie. "Oh my god, we're in this universe now, with nothing, absolutely nothing."

The New Doctor spoke, "Oh don't you worry about that Jackie, we'll take care of it." He and his counterpart looked at each other and went to work.

The rotor began moving, and the TARDIS shook lightly. When the re-materialization sequence was complete, the Doctor in the Brown suit announced, "OK, here we are at your flat, the day after the Void closed. You'll be able to get pictures and other things that can't be replaced."

"While you're doing that, we'll set you up with everything you need," Donna said with a smile.

"Now remember that you can't be seen, heard, or anything. Your supposed to be dead. No leaving the flat." The Blue suited Doctor pointed the last words at Jackie.

Donna walked to the door and opened it. "We're parked in your flat now. You go on now, we'll be back soon."

The part human Doctor came up behind Rose and put his hand on her shoulder. "You should go with them. Make sure it goes according to plan," he told her in a low voice. She looked back at him and he must have seen some of the fear she had been trying to keep hidden, because he then added, "There's no one else I trust to keep them from accidentally causing a paradox. We'll be right back, Rose, I promise."

Donna came over and said, "When we get everyone settled, I vote we go to Felspoon. They've got mountains that sway in the breeze! Can you imagine that, Rose?"

"Sounds amazing," Rose replied, with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something wasn't right here, she could feel it, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Go on now," the Doctor whispered. Rose nodded, swallowed, and stepped out of the TARDIS. She turned around and watched it fade out of existence, trying to quell the uneasy feeling that was building.


	3. Estates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Personal items are gathered, and the Tylers see their new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still not mine, yet I so wish it was!

It was a blast from the distant past, being in this flat again after so long. Everything was surreal, especially with Tony and Pete wandering about. Rose had everything she wanted from the flat packed in a small bag on the floor nearby the front door. There wasn't much, seeing as how most everything Rose really wanted had migrated to her room in the little blue box she'd lived in for so long.

She stood in the doorway of the kitchen, half listening to her mother's babble and remembering the last time she had stood in this spot. Her mother had been going on about being visited by grandpa Prentice, who had died a decade previously. Rose had thought her mother had went insane for real. Little did she know....

A question from her mother broke through her musing. “And now there's two! So which one's real then?” she questioned Rose. Rose didn't know what her mother was talking about at first, then she remembered that her mother had turned her talk towards the two doctors situation.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Well, they both are obviously real, Mum.”

Jackie turned away from the counter, pointed at Rose and berated her. “You know what I mean, Missy. None of your cheek.”

Rose did indeed know what her mother meant. “The original one is the one that's wearing the brown suit, Mum.”

“And the other one is...human?” Jackie asked.

“Part human,” Rose corrected automatically.

“Part human? How can you be part human?”

“It's actually quite common. Apparently humans are very compatible with a large amount of other sentient species,” Rose told her.

Jackie had a look of disgust on her face. “What do you mean, are we surrounded by....part aliens?”

“Well, I'm sure that there are a few in this time,” Rose reasoned, while she stirred her tea, oblivious to her mother's disgust. “But it won't be until humans start spreading out in the galaxy before it becomes more common for part human inter-species relationships.” She took a sip, turned around, and noticed the look on her mother's face. “Mum. I'm shocked at ya! With all you've seen! And not that long ago, me an' Mickey would have been considered scandalous, and you had no problems with that.”

“No, no, it's not that,” said Jackie. “It's the thought that maybe someone I knew had a tail or somethin!”

Both women tried to keep a straight face, but both failed miserably. They both knew that the other one was thinking about this one homeless man on the Powell Estate, Carl. Poor old man. He was nice, but very odd. Rose was one of the few who had talked to him enough to get to know who he was and would sometimes bring him out leftovers or a sandwich. The man was smart enough to do anything he wanted to do, but was an old soldier, and decided that his penance was a life with as few possessions and little comfort as possible. But there were plenty of other people who were odd that both could think of.

Every time one would calm down, they'd think about another person, either here or in Pete's World, and tell the other one who they were thinking about, as well as what sort of weirdness they might have from being part alien, then the laughter would begin again.

When Pete was finished packing up the photos in a duffel bag, he found the mother and daughter bent over in half hysterical laughter.  
\--  
After they had calmed down from their laughter, Rose and Jackie sat on their old couch, sipping on their tea. Pete and Tony were playing on the other side of the room. They were making small talk, and Rose could tell that her mother had something on her mind she wanted to ask Rose.

“Out with it, Mum.”

“There's two of him now, Rose,” Jackie informed Rose, like she didn't know that already.

“Yeah, and?” She wondered where this was going.

“What's the difference between the two of them?” Jackie asked.

“I dunno, Mum,” Rose answered. “It's not like I've had time to find all of that out yet. Really, I don't think the Doctors themselves know what's all different yet, if anything really.”

“The Doctors?” Jackie asked incredulously. “The man changed his face, now he's come up with a clone, and it doesn't seem to matter to you!”

“Of course it ma-” Rose started. She then stopped herself before she could say something that she was going to regret later. She continued with, “Mum, we just got back, and frankly, I'm too tired to want to think about it right now. Besides, that doesn't even make the top 10 weirdest things that have happened around me list.”

“I just want ta make sure you're thinkin' about it, Sweetheart,” she said. “Think about what it means with two o' 'imself.”

Against her better judgment, she prompted her mother to continue. “What?”

“I think you should pick the human one, Rose,” Jackie told her in her I'm-your-mother-and-I-know-what's-best-for-you voice.

Rose clenched her eyes shut for a moment, trying to keep herself from figuratively biting her mother's head off. “And why is that?” she replied tersely.

“You said it yourself, they're both real. Well, maybe the human version is the better one,” Jackie pointed out.

Rose's jaw dropped. “Seriously? You think now is the time for your 'my daughter should be with a human' agenda?” she said incredulously. “You're really starting that again?”

“No, not anymore,” Jackie sighed. “I'm just- can he give you a family?”

“T-that's not, I d-don't-” Rose stuttered. “We weren't like that!”

“Oh don't give me that Rose, I know better.”

“Well, apparently you don't, because we were never like that. Besides, even if we were, I literally just got back in the same universe as 'im! Now's not the time to begin to think about that sort of thing, even if it was what I want.”

“You'll change your mind one day Missy, mark my words. One day, you'll see a woman holding a baby and-”

Rose interrupted her. “Oh, so you can see time lines now too now, huh?” she scoffed.

“It happens to everyone, eventually. I just hope it happens for you before your too old to chase a toddler around.” Jackie said, with the air of someone with great wisdom to impart.

“Oh Lord,” Rose groaned, “I haven't even had a chance to properly talk with 'im, either of 'em yet, and you- you're ready to babysit! OK, this conversation. Is. Over.” Rose declared. “Jus' leave it.”

“Fine,” her mother huffed, then added, “for now.”

Rose considered it a small victory. She went to change the subject, but before she could say anything, she was attacked by a 3 foot tall missile. “Oomph.”

“Wose! Lookee this!” He held up a toy from Rose's own childhood. It was a small toy model passenger plane. Tony had never actually seen an airplane before, having grown up in a world with slow moving airships instead.

Rose picked up her little brother, and told him, “Cool Tony, that's an airplane like Donna was talking about. They fly a lot faster and higher than the zeppelins did. You'll see a lot of these now.”

The key that Rose had always worn around her neck started getting warm, indicating that the time ship was coming, so she called out to Pete. “Get over here by the couch, who knows where they'll land.”

The wheezing and groaning noise that heralded the appearance of the big, blue police box could be heard, and the box started fading into sight. When it was solid, one of the Doctors poked his head out the door. Rose noted that it was the one in the blue suit. His hair was damp and drooping, as if he had taken a shower.

“All aboard! Next stop, the new Tyler abode!” He grinned. “Got everything you're taking?”

Everyone assented. They gathered their belongings and went into the TARDIS.  
\--  
Before she had left the ship, she had a very bad feeling. She had felt a fear that had bordered into panic. Rose now knew why she had such a bad feeling before leaving the ship. When she got back on, she knew immediately that Donna wasn't there. The way both Doctors were acting, she knew something bad had happened. As soon as she got one of them, or both, alone, she was going to find out.  
\--  
It was a quick jump just a few years into the future and over a few countries. The ride was one of the calmest Rose had ever had. She loved the wild ride that she was used to, but was glad, for her family's sake, that these last couple of jumps were calm.

Since it had been deemed too risky to put the Tylers back in London in their time, and Jackie was adamant about being in her home time, they had decided on Italy. The ship materialized in the living room of the new Tyler home with barely a shake.

“Okay, Tylers,” said the Doctor wearing the blue suit as he strode over to the door. “Welcome to the Tyler Estate!” He gave a small laugh at his own joke, which fell flat, even with his other self. He opened the doors and said, “Well come on then!”

Jackie, Pete, who was carrying Tony, and the blue suited Doctor stepped outside to explore the house. Rose used this as an opportunity to talk to the fully Time Lord Doctor, who was also wet, much wetter than his counterpart, but his soaked jacket had been taken off, so he just had a blue oxford and tie on.

“Doctor, where's Donna?” she asked.

The Doctor looked at her, and she could see the confirmation of what she had felt earlier in his eyes. Something very, very bad had happened to Donna. A memory came to her mind, unbidden, “ _You're gonna burn!_ ” She knew this was another bit of memory from the day she took in the Vortex. She often remembered bits and pieces from that day, but only when she needed to. Did Donna burn? The Doctor was always going on about his big brain, and all of that knowledge was suddenly in the mind of a human woman.

“She's gone home now,” the Doctor replied, skirting the issue.

“She couldn't handle it, could she,” Rose sadly said. “Is she...”

“She's okay,” he replied quickly. “She's home now.” It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it.

Rose knew he wasn't lying, but she didn't know how Donna could be alright. She was opening her mouth to ask him about it, when her mother's piercing voice rang out.

“Rose, come check this out, the view is gorgeous!”

Rose and the Doctor both grimaced. Rose grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards the door with her as she went to see what her mother wanted.

They stepped through the open doors of the TARDIS into a nice, simple living room. It was done in a dark wood with white walls, a large comfortable couch that you could sink into on one wall, with matching single chairs around. Another wall was taken up by large windows looking out over a view of, whoa, was that....

”Rome?”

Rose remembered the last time she had seen this place. It was all new back then. That visit had been seared into her mind forever. She and the Doctor had both been turned into stone, the Doctor had carved a very accurate statue of her, and then there was that kiss. It was only a moment, but wow.

“Oh yes. Beautiful place,” the Doctor in blue said with a smile. The Doctor she was standing next to pulled his hand out of hers and walked over to Pete.

“Rome, Italy. Home of the Colosseum, the Pantheon, some of the most beautiful basilicas ever.” The Doctor in brown enthusiastically said, a little too jovially.

“Basilicas?” Jackie asked.

“Churches, halls, anyplace where people gather,” the Doctor in blue explained.

“You know, we don't speak Italian,” Jackie pointed out.

“I do,” Pete spoke up. “Lived in Italy for a couple of months in my wild days. Not fluent at it, but passable.”

Rose almost laughed at the shocked look on her mother's face. “You dinnit know that, Mum?” she asked. “I knew that.”

“I knew he had lived in Italy, but not that he could actually talk with people!”

“If you don't like it, you could always move somewhere else,” the Doctor wearing the brown suit pants told them while scratching at the back of his neck. “This place has everything you need, furniture, appliances, linens, and such. It's the essentials, though, so you can get whatever you want. We've also gotten you all new identification.” He pointed to a manilla envelope laying next to the television and continued. “Passports, birth certificates, the deed to this place. It's all here. Don't use any of your old identification.”

“How did you manage to do all of this?” Jackie asked.

“Time machine,” the Doctor in brown simply replied.

The Doctor who still had his jacket on decided to elaborate on that by telling them, “We popped back a bit and made some investments in your name Pete. Called on a friend we know to arrange for the house and get it set up with the basics. Wasn't that hard.”

Jackie looked back and forth between the twin Time Lords with a soft expression on her face. “Thank you.” She flung herself at the nearer of the two Time Lords, the one without his jacket, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you so much, and not just for this, for my family as well. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have my husband or my beautiful boy.”

Rose knew that was something that he needed to hear, the confirmation that his existence had not only saved lives, but helped create lives as well. Especially so soon after Davros was spewing his poisonous words.

Rose made a joke to lighten the mood. “The Doctor's Pan Dimensional Matchmaking Service, the perfect person for you is out there somewhere, they just might not be in this universe!” This got smiles out of everyone.

Peter Alan Tyler, ever the practical business man, asked, “Do you have an investment portfolio?”

The fully Time Lord Doctor extricated himself from the clutches of Jackie Tyler and told him, “Back here in the office there's a computer.” He pulled a small notebook out of his trouser pocket and handed it to Pete. “Here's account information and passwords for everything.” The two men went down the hallway towards the office.

Rose sat down in one of the chairs and the Doctor in blue sat down in the closest spot to her on the couch. He laid his back against the back of the couch, so that he was looking at the ceiling. They both stayed where they were in silence for a moment, listening to Jackie and Tony moving throughout the house.

“So, what happened to Donna? I know she's at home and she couldn't handle it, but....” she trailed off, not knowing what to say really.

The Doctor lifted up his head and looked at her. “He told you that much?” he said, in genuine shock.

“No, I was able to get that she was fine and at home out of him. I'm guessing the reason why we're not going to, what was it? Feel Spon?”

“Felspoon,” the Doctor corrected automatically. “The human brain is very delicate. It was too much knowledge for her, and she was burning up.” He let out a long, shaky breath and added, “We, well, he, had to take her memories of us to save her life. She doesn'. remember any of us.”

Rose reached her hand over to where the Doctor had his arm on the arm rest to rub his arm, and he grabbed her hand up like it was a lifeline. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. And looked into his eyes.

“She'll be okay,” she gently said.

Just then, the fully Time Lord Doctor walked in and looked at the pair sitting down.

Rose noticed that he was there, pulled back from his counterpart, stood up, and asked, “Everyone liking everything okay?”

“Yeah,” the full Time Lord Doctor replied. “They all seem to be impressed.” He paused, swallowed hard, and set his jaw. “Listen, Rose,” he began, not looking at Rose, “there are extra bedrooms here, you could stay here, live a good, proper life.”

Rose gave an incredulous laugh. “Not a chance. How many times now have we had some form of this discussion? I made my choice ages ago, and nothing has changed.”

The Doctor looks at her imploringly. “Yes, it has, there's him now.” He gestured, indicating his other self. “And....” He ran his hand through his hair, which was still wet, looked at his counterpart, and implored him, “You tell her.”

Rose couldn't help but turn her head towards the other Doctor, who sheepishly informed her that, “If you wanted, I'd stay here with you. Live this life.” He stopped and scratched the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed.

“He's part human, Rose, you should think about-”

Rose looked back and forth between the two of them. “Oh, now you sound like my mother,” Rose interrupted, chiding the both of them. She then put her hand on the Doctor's arm and told him, “Look, 'm not leaving either of you behind, and 'm not staying here with them.” She waved her other hand in the vague direction of the hallway, indicating her family. “Besides, I haven't lived with them for years anyway. I want to stay on the TARDIS, and I want my life back.” She paused when a thought hit her. “Is that okay?” She felt her eyes starting to water a bit, and fought it. She refused to cry, or to even look like she might be crying or about to cry.

The Doctor who was standing there finally met Rose's eyes. He stood as still as a statue for a moment, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath, defeated once again by the stubborn pink and yellow human standing in front of him.

“Yeah,” he finally agreed. “It's okay.”

“Fantastic,” she said. "I'll go let Mum know we're off.” She walked down the unfamiliar hallway to let her family know that she was leaving.

It took a few minutes before they headed off to say bye to everyone. The Doctors both went back into the TARDIS while Rose did this.

When Rose walked into the sentient time ship, she felt a long missed warmth in the very back of her mind that was accompanied by the lights getting slightly brighter. The ship herself welcomed her home. Rose threw her arms around a piece of the exposed coral and tried to send a mental hug back to the ship. She then let go of the strut, and looked towards the console, where the Doctors both stood.


	4. First Morning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the part human Doctor have a long discussion.

Standing in the console room, the first thing that Rose noticed is that it was quiet, far too quiet. Just a couple of hours ago, this room was filled with people celebrating saving all of reality and working together to tow the planet most of them came from home. But now everyone was gone, except for Rose and the two Doctors. The TARDIS herself even seemed a little dimmer and sadder, or maybe that was just the grief over what happened to Donna coloring Rose's perception.

As the Tardis dematerialized, Rose involuntarily let out a yawn. It had been 39 hours, 2 universes (not counting this one), and an incredibly emotional day since she last slept, and it was really starting to show. The Doctor in the blue suit noticed. "I saw that. Off to bed with you. We'll see you when you get up."

"Are you..." Rose started, but the Doctor in Blue answered her question before she could voice it.

"We'll be OK, she's alive, and that's all that matters." This answer startled her a little bit, being used to the usual, "I'm always OK."

Rose nodded her head a little. It was enough for her to drop the subject for now. She bids, "Good night," to the Doctor who answered her.

She then turned toward the other Doctor, who was sitting on the jump seat. His head was still lowered and droplets of water hung at the tips of his fringe. Rose put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a little, reassuring squeeze. He looked up at her, his face full of grief. She couldn't help but wrap her arms around his neck. Rose felt him stiffen for a moment, then he wrapped one of his arms around her and gave a little squeeze before he pulled back. "You should get some sleep, Rose."

Rose nodded. "Good night, Doctor."

She walked toward the hallway. Before she left the room, she heard a voice softly call out, "No night in the TARDIS Rose." She wasn't sure which one of them said it, and it gives her a little smile. Some things will never change.

As she wandered down the hallway, she mused on the appearance of the ship and how it compared to her memory. She found that her memory is surprisingly good, but that the real thing was much more vivid. Her mind turned toward the Doctor- Doctors she reminded herself, there was 2 of him now. That was weird, very weird. She was not entirely sure what to make of it. As she told her mother, she was sure that this New, New, New Doctor was really the Doctor, she could see it in his eyes, but he was part human. How could that even be possible? But then again, this was the same man who grew back a hand, and she didn't have a clue what all he was capable of. All she knew was it had something to do with the regeneration energy, the aforementioned hand, and Donna. She was too tired to try to think more about it right now.

She was still winding through the corridors when she realized three things: 1) she'd been walking for a bit longer than she remembered, 2) she didn't even ask if her room even existed on the ship anymore, and 3) if it was still there, was it still in the same place? She stopped for a second and tried to clear her mind of everything but the location of her room. Rose felt a welcome warmth in her mind, and received a little nudge. She followed the nudge, and a minute later, she stood in front of what was undoubtedly her bedroom door, which looked like it's solid wood, carved with an intricate rose in full bloom and a complex circular symbol she'd recognize anywhere, the one symbol she could recognize in Gallifreyan: Rose Marion Tyler.

Inside her room, she was struck by just how much she had changed in the years since she last stood in this room. A shocking pink and purple duvet is on the bed, clothes scattered everywhere, makeup on the vanity, the mascara she used the morning of the Battle of Canary Wharf laid on the floor next to the vanity where it must have rolled off.

It's nothing like her little flat in Pete's World, but then, that was the point, wasn't it? Her life there was functional, purpose driven. This pink and yellow version of Rose Tyler was dead, had died when she lost her Doctor. Gone was Rose Tyler, The Valiant Child, the naïve girl who believed that nothing could ever tear her and her Doctor apart. Standing in her place was Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, The Big, Bad Wolf.

The devil on Krop Tor was right after all, that Valiant Child had died in battle.

Would the Doctor even like this new version of her? He'd already tried once to push her away.

No, those were thoughts better left alone. No second guessing herself. She knew how the Doctor was, and he would have many reasons for trying to push her away. He'd done it before before they had been separated too. She was who she was, and right now, that was a tired woman who smelled of smoke.

Shower first. She stepped into her en-suite, stripped down, and stepped into the shower, closing the door. How she had missed this shower, which never ran out of hot water, hit her from multiple directions, and her 31st century bath products.

After she got out of the shower, she got dressed in some light pink flannel pajamas, and climbed into her bed. She was out in just a few minutes.

The next morning, Rose glared at her personal wardrobe. Almost all of her trousers were loose. Did she really lose that much weight?

She found the tightest pair of blue jeans she owned, and a leather belt with a vine pattern tooled into it. She paired it with a light purple tank top and her blue jean jacket she last wore at the Olympics, then she added her boots she wore throughout her dimension jumping.

She then headed toward the kitchen (galley she reminded herself). The galley looked like a 50's diner in blue and white checkered pattern, but with coral walls. One corner was dominated by the dark wood table, which was set up in a corner booth that was wooden with deep blue cushions. The galley had looked like that ever since their trip to 1953, and Rose loved it.

One of the Doctors stood in there, she was sure it was the part human one, wearing the blue suit, but she couldn't be 100 percent for sure yet. He had his back to her and was making pancakes, bacon, and eggs. The eggs were large and had a bluish tint to them. She wondered where they were from, for a moment, but then the Doctor reached for something in the cabinet and his suit jacket rode up. Rose couldn't help where her eyes went. All three versions of him she had known so far had a great smile and a nice bum. She tamped down her sudden arousal before the Doctor could turn around and catch her staring at him.

"Hello," she greeted him.

The Doctor looked back at her, grinned, and said, "Hello! First 'night' back in the TARDIS. How'd you sleep?"

"Like the dead," replied Rose. In fact, it had been the best night's sleep she had since the last time she had slept in the TARDIS. She suspected that the time ship herself had something to do with that, keeping her nightmares from her when she really needed sleep. She rubbed the door frame and thought her thanks to the ship and felt the coral get warmer under her hand. Rose then stepped into the galley proper.

"Must have," he teased with a smile. "You were sleeping for a while. Longer than usual, even for you-"

She glared at him and interrupted before he could get into his usual rant about human sleep. "I had been up for nearly 2 days when I finally went to bed. There was a lot to do," she explained. Before the Doctor could ask about what she did, she pointed to the stove and rhetorically asked, "Making breakfast?"

The Doctor looked down at the stove, like he had forgotten about the food he was cooking for a moment. He quickly slid the pancakes onto a plate, and poured more batter into the pan.

"Yep! Most important meal of the day! We have eggs from Finishola, bacon and pancakes from Earth, syrup from Triliaxa Three, which tastes like oranges. Oh Rose, I should take you there sometime! You'd love it! The bark of the trees the syrup comes from are rainbow colored, well, I say rainbow colored, but it's mostly greens, reds, oranges, yellows, and some brown. Blue and purple is rare, so it can't really be rainbow colored, can it? Though the locals call it rainbow. It looks like people painted it with extremely drippy paintbrushes, but that's just how the peeling bark looks."

"Sounds beautiful," mused Rose. While the Doctor was talking about the trees, Rose had gathered forks and plates for the three of them.

"Oh, it is. And there's a market there too, with just about anything you could want there. I've gotten many a part that I needed for the TARDIS there." He filled two plates and sat them down on the table, leaving the third plate sitting on the counter.

This didn't escape Rose's notice. "Where's-"

"In the console room, working on the TARDIS, the Old Girl can do just about anything, but towing the Earth halfway across the universe was a bit rough on her." He turned back to the counter.

Rose nodded and sat down at the table. She picked up her fork to begin eating, when a cup of tea was put in front of her. She immediately put down her fork and picked up the cup of tea. She heard a soft chuckle. Rose looked at the source of the chuckle, and said, "What?"

"One would think it's been years since you've had a decent cuppa."

"Maybe it has been."

"I don't believe Jackie Tyler wouldn't make sure that there was good tea in the house."

"Oh, she did, but nothing over there ever tasted right to me- nor did it smell right for that matter. Mum always said that I was mental, that it was all in my head." She took a sip of her tea. A blissful look passed over her face. "Mmm, see? S'not in my head, this tastes just fine!"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, a calculating look, then smiled and said, "Well, Rose Tyler, I'm glad that I was able to give you your first proper cuppa, though I wonder why everything tasted wrong?"

"It's not, I had one back when we were at the old flat. And as for the taste thing, who knows. Maybe it was all in my head?"

"Ah, so you are mental after all then?" the Doctor asked with a grin.

"Oi!" They both chuckle at that and Rose dug into her eggs.

The Doctor poured syrup on his pancakes, took a bite, and almost instantaneously got this disgusted look on his face, followed quickly by spitting out the offending bite, flicking his tongue in the air, and grabbing a napkin to wipe it off. "Oh, that's disgusting," he spat.

"What, has the syrup gone off or something?" She looked down at her own pancakes, which were covered with the same orange tasting syrup.

"No, no, nothing like that," he replied with a grimace. "New, New, New Doctor, new, new, new taste buds. And the taste of orange is gross!."

She couldn't help but laugh at the face he was making. Rose had been pretty sure she had been talking to the part human Doctor since she walked into the galley, but this sealed it. Remembering when the other Doctor regenerated (or should she be thinking when he had last regenerated? Just one more question on an already long list), she went over to the cabinet and got out a little plate. She then went over to the cabinet where the various syrups were usually kept, got each of them down, and put a little bit of each on the plate, as if they were paints on a palette.

"No more marmalade then? Oh well, let's see what you do like now, as far as syrup goes, hmm?" Rose brought the plate over to the Doctor with a pancake that hadn't been drenched yet. She even brought a fork that didn't have any traces of the offending orange tasting syrup on it.

He knew what she was doing, and he looked up at Rose with a warm look that made her heart skip a beat. "Rose Tyler, you are absolutely brilliant!" he exclaimed. He then grinned, and dug in.

In the end, they discovered that the Doctor liked blueberry, plain maple syrup, one that tasted of bananas (of course), strawberry, and 3 other kinds that Rose couldn't pronounce. He couldn't stand the almost grape tasting syrup, eucalinictus (the orange tasting one), and a purplish syrup that tasted kind of like peaches. The Doctor decided to cover his pancakes with the banana flavored syrup.

After the taste testing, they eat in silence for a few minutes. During this time, Rose noticed that the Doctor kept glancing at her, looking thoughtful.

She looks over at him and questioned, "what?"

The Doctor tried to make himself look like the picture of innocence. "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't need to. Penny for 'em?"

The Doctor leaned back against the back of the booth seat. "I never thought I'd see you again, and now here you are, against all odds and impossibilities. But then again, you're Rose Tyler, impossible is a word that's not even in your vocabulary, is it?" he added fondly. Since she made the plate syrup palette, he had a weird fluttery feeling. It seemed that she was actually seeing him as the doctor.

"Oh, it is, but I'm pretty sure that word does not mean what you think it means," she teased with a grin. She picked up a piece of bacon and bit into it. The two of them were silent for a few more moments while they finished their meal, then Rose got up, took both of their plates away, and got herself another cup of tea. When she sat down, she was deep in thought.

"You have questions," he stated.

"Of course I do. Right now 'm tryin' to figure out where exactly to start." She thought for another moment. "OK, I've got it. How did two of you come to be? What exactly is a metacrisis? That's not too weird, is it, if I ask like that? Is it a kind of clone?" she broke off, a look of horror on her face. "Not that I'm saying your...I mean, ...oh hell, I don't know," she flushed, embarrassed, "right now, I'm looking at this like a regeneration, I mean it's a bit weird, somewhat sideways, and the last version of you still around. But new body, new taste buds. Sounds sorta like a regeneration to me."

He gave her a look of pride, grinned, and said, "That's a great place to start, and, well, as good of a short description of what happened as could be had, I suppose. Your fantastic."

She could see the shift in gears in his mind as he went into full lecture mode.

"Under the right set of circumstances, even a single cell can be used to regenerate a time lord. Back on Gallifrey, we had this Amplified Panatropic Computer Network, which was used to store the knowledge, memories, and bio data extracts of time lords, The Matrix part of it also stored information from TARDIS sensors in addition to the accumulated knowledge of the Time Lords, and could be used to predict the future."

Rose was listening with rapt attention, both wondering where this was going, and fascinated to learn more about the Doctor's home planet.

"At the end of the war, the Council had started using the APC Net combined with looming technology to resurrect dead Time Lords," the Doctor paused there for a moment, looking off into the distance.

Rose knew that he was seeing images from the Time War, and pulled him out of his darker thoughts with her softly asked question. "Looming technology?"

The Doctor looked back at Rose with a funny look on his face. "That's how we got new people. Basically, two people input a sample of their DNA, and the looms wove the 2 samples together and made a new person. The looms were used to breed out any unwanted traits. My people believed themselves to be above all base instincts. It had been many millennia before I was born since they had children in anything resembling a natural capacity. I mean," he rubbed his hand at the back of his neck, "it happened sometimes, about once a millennium. Those people were usually a bit different, more emotional. A telepathic being born naturally is more empathic. For the Time Lords, affection and emotion were usually seen as signs of weakness, and we were actually taught practically from birth to control ourselves," he stopped and took a deep breath, then gave gave Rose a wry smile. "I was always rubbish at that part." Rose gave a little chuckle.

He fidgeted for a moment, "where was I?, Got way off there, didn't I?" He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, resurrection, Time Lord style. Anyway, you only need a single cell of a Time Lord to remake them, a tiny bit of TNA, plus their biometrical signature. But that's under controlled circumstances." His eyes met Rose's, and he swallowed before he continued, "What happened to me was a lot more complex, and as far as I'm aware, the only time anything remotely like this has ever happened. I had a whole hand to work with." He wriggled his fingers. "My handy spare hand, love this hand. It was cut off just after regeneration and still had some of that energy in it. Then the new regenerative energy was funneled into it. Time Lord consciousness is in that energy, and allows the memories to stay intact from body to body. At that point, it was still just a hand, albeit a very handsome manly one."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

"The hand needed a catalyst. That's where Donna came in, when she touched the hand, it provided a catalyst. And shazam! Hello New Me with a dash of human. " He scrunched up his face as if he smelled something bad. "Ooh, I don't like that word, don't lemme say that word again, but in the basic sense, this body isn't a clone, because of the human component and me having my memories from the start. Also, clones tend to take a bit longer to make."

The Doctor then got serious. "That's what happened to Donna, though. A little bit of that energy went into her, and with it, the full consciousness of a Time lord. The human brain isn't able to deal with that and it was killing her." He looked at Rose with sadness.

"I'm going to miss her, she was like a sister to me. Very sassy, didn't let me get away with much. If she had met me when I was all ears, we'd have never gotten anything done for sassing each other! She was good. You'd have loved her, Rose. Rude and Ginger! Why couldn't I have gotten the ginger part instead of this one heart?"

"Wait, what? You have one heart?" Without really thinking, she reached over and put her hands to his chest, and felt his heart. He smiled and leaned into her touch. She could feel the steady beat of one heart beating at human speed. "Oh, that is, different."

He couldn't help himself, he had to say it. "Good different, or bad different?"

She grinned at the memory. "Jus' different." He grinned back.

"What else about you is different?" she asked, nervous.

He didn't know why, but this hit the insecure part of the Doctor full force. "I'm still me Rose. Everything I was before up until I shot the energy into this hand, I still am, it's just a new..." He swallowed, and gave her a pleading look.

"I know Doctor," she said, emphasizing his chosen name. "I meant what's different about this part human body, other than the heart."

He nodded, and suddenly Rose was caught up in a hug which was a bit awkward, because they were both sitting down. "Thank you," the Doctor whispered in her ear. He then pulled back.

"For what?" Rose asked, genuinely confused.

"For just being you, for coming back home."

He then sat back, cleared his throat, and went back to talking about the physical effects of the metacrisis. "OK, to answer your question, we have the one heart, I don't have the respiratory bypass anymore, no ability to detox if I get poisoned, losing those are the real shame, they've saved my bacon a time or two, lemme tell you!"

"Detox?"

"Oh, that's right, you haven't had to experience that little quirk yet, have you? OK, example this one time with Donna, we were, quite literally in the middle of an Agatha Christie mystery, she's brilliant by the way, and welll, I got poisoned by cyanide." At Rose's gasp, he nodded his head. "Anyway, to detox, I used ginger beer, walnuts-for the protein, sardines-for the salt, and then I needed a big shock to the system. You know what she did for the shock? She kissed me, just grabbed my head and planted one right on me!"

Rose wrinkled her nose and said, "I bet that was a great kiss, all sardiney and all." Rose couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. He got the I'm-a-9-year-old-boy-who-was-kissed-by-his-mum-in-public face.

"Got to hand it to her, it did work!" He then went back to explaining the differences. "Also, my senses, the same ones humans have, are all muted a bit. And the telepathy is weaker, but then again, the sensitivity of those senses always differed from body to body. And the last one was extremely strong in those senses."

"Anyway, I'll learn more as time goes on," he finished.

Rose finished her cup of tea and said, "I would have expected him to have shown up by now, knowing food was being made, your not one to turn down food."

The Doctor shifted a bit uncomfortably, sighed, and informed her that, "My other self is taking Donna's loss really hard. He's the one who actually had to do... that. For a telepath, an intrusion like that is the highest crime. It doesn't matter that doing so saved her life, especially since he killed who Donna had become since they met."

"There's got to be a way to let her have her memories back."

"Most likely, not. And even if we were to find out a way to permanently remove the time lord consciousness from her mind and keep her memories of us running around the universe, it'd be extremely dangerous to get the process started. If the memories are remembered before the process is complete, we can't shut it down again, and she will die."

As he talked, he looked lost. Rose knew he was taking it just as hard as the other Doctor. He may not have had to take her memories, but his very creation is the reason for the memories having to be taken in the first place. And the Doctor had always been good at taking on guilt he didn't really deserve. Rose wrapped her arms around him from the side. She felt his arm wrap around her waist and give her a squeeze.

As she held him, the Doctor's darker thoughts turned to the woman in his arms. How amazing it was that she was even here in the first place. How he never thought he'd see her again. A million questions sprang up in his mind. Some of them he knew his other self had, questions like, "How was she here anyway?" and, "What happened in the world created around Donna?" But there were others that his fully time lord self wouldn't know to ask yet. All of them based around her comment about taste and smell. Something in his mind latched onto that statement and said it was important, but he didn't know how or why.

Rose pulled back from him with her trademark tongue-in-teeth grin. "I have an idea," she said. "Let's take him his breakfast. Won't do to let any version of you brood too long!" She got up and went to the counter. When she put the plate together, she exclaimed, "oh, I've missed this, the food is still perfectly warm!" She strode out of the galley with the plate of food in her hand, running her hand along the wall in thanks. As soon as she was through the doorway, she immediately turned back around. "Forgot the fork." The Doctor smiled, grabbed a fork, and followed her out of the galley and to the console room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tree mentioned is based strongly on the rainbow eucalyptus. Look it up, it's gorgeous!


	5. Broken Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The part-human Doctor finds out about a new difference between his two halves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I owe a bit of the dialogue in here to NoYouPlum on Tumblr. Look up the "Pete's World" gifsets. One of them inspired the scene in the library.

Chapter 5: Broken Things

The Doctor passed the fork he was carrying to Rose when he caught up with her.

“Ta,” she said, then stabbed the fork into the stack of pancakes so that it stood up like a flagpole.

The walk to the console room was fairly short. Apparently, the TARDIS agreed with them that the fully Time Lord Doctor shouldn't be brooding alone and/or needed some food.

“Hello there Doctor,” Rose greeted when they walked into the console room. “Brought you some breakfast.”

They heard a bang, then a curse. At least Rose thought it was a curse, it was musical, and sounded like the Doctor's own language, so it could have been anything since the TARDIS wouldn't translate Gallifreyan or cursing. The Doctor's head popped up out of the open grate. He saw the plate of food, then dragged himself out from under his hiding sp–the console. His hair was sticking up everywhere from his habit of tugging on it, and bits of grease were on his forehead.

“Thank you,” the Doctor said, taking the plate from her and sitting on the jump seat.

The Doctor that she had breakfast with climbed down under the console, then reach his hand up on it and grabbed the sonic. “Not much left to do, is there? Just a few wires....” He trailed off as he got to work.

Rose heard the sound of the sonic whirring and knew that he was using it like a soldering iron to attach the wires back together. The Doctor beside her was working steadily through the eggs on his plate, then took a bit of the pancakes with the eucalinictus syrup.

“I half expected you to spit it out like he did,” she commented.

The Doctor looked up from his plate at Rose, swallowed, and questioned, “What?”

“He doesn't like the syrup now,” she said in explanation.

He looked over at the hole in the floor and called down, “What? Eucalinictus syrup is good!”

“My new taste buds would beg to differ,” they heard from the raised piece of grating, which caused the Doctor next to her to groan in sympathy.

She couldn't imagine what it was like to change your entire body- tastes, and everything- once, much less as many times as the Doctor had. Then the new one had a whole new wrinkle to regeneration: a body with one heart. That must feel extremely weird. Her thoughts were interrupted by the object of her thoughts poking his head out of the grating.

“Did you see the damage to the space- time locator?” he asked.

“Yeah, the last de-materialization was a bit too quick. It has been needing to be replaced. We're also going to have to pick up some more tinoplannium.” The Doctor resumed eating his breakfast.

The Doctor who was in the floor smiled a thousand watt grin and said, “So, Triliaxa Three? I was telling Rose a bit about Trilaxia Three just this morning.”

“Works well enough. I think Rose would like it.” He looked over at Rose and asked, “Did he tell you about the trees this syrup comes from?”

“Yeah. They sound beautiful,” Rose replied, smiling. “We won't have any problems getting there, will we, with that part being messed up?”

The Doctor under the console turned his gaze over to her and said, “Nah, it's still got a trip left in it before we're stuck.” He then climbed out of the hole and closed the grate.

The Doctor in the brown suit finished his breakfast, stood up, and went to walk out of the console room, but before he got two steps, he turned around and informed his counterpart, “I've got to get cleaned up, and you should make yourself a screwdriver. Then, we'll be off.” He then walked out of the room.

The other Doctor hit some buttons on the console. He then looked to Rose and said, “That'll take a bit. Come to the library with me?”

Rose nodded her agreement to that and walked off to the library with him. They were silent for the walk towards the library. Rose was trying to remember what the last book they were reading was. She wasn't aware of the looks that her companion were shooting at her. Looks full of questions.

They came to the library quickly enough, where the Doctor plopped down on the very comfortable couch and grabbed one of the thick tomes scattered across the table. Rose went over to the shelf with Dickens on it, she had always meant to actually read _A Christmas Carol_ and was curious to see how it stacked up against the numerous filmed versions. She walked back to the area where they always sat while reading, and found the Doctor in blue still on the couch, feet propped up on the arm of the couch. He was looking at a book, no, squinting more like.

“This can't be right” he complained. He peered over the book at Rose and asked, “Is this how humans usually read?”

“How?” Rose asked, confused.

“Really, really slowly.”

“It takes as long as it takes, Doctor, some people are slow, some are fast.”

“At this rate, it's gonna take me hours to read this thing. Hours! This human thing is rubbish, absolute rubbish!” He laid the book over his face so that she could only see his hair sticking out over top of it and groaned.

“Doctor, are you pouting?” she asked in enjoyment of his antics.

“No,” came the muffled reply. He took the book off of his face, and looked at Rose, just as the corner of her mouth started twitching. “Rose Tyler, are you _amused_?”

“Nope,” she said, popping the p. She then took pity on him and questioned, “How's it look to you. Maybe a bit blurry at the edges? Hard to focus? Did you have a bit of a hard time seeing the wires you were attaching earlier?”

“How'd you know?” he questioned, surprised that she knew what he was seeing.

“The squinting, and the fact that you seemed to be trying to move things you were looking at farther away. You may be a bit farsighted in this body.”

“Great.” He groaned. “One more thing where I'm bro-”

A thought then occurred to him, and he stood up quickly and ran out the door. Rose followed him out, wondering what was going on, when they came across the fully Time Lord Doctor, making his way to the console room as well. They had been gone longer than Rose thought.

“Where's the fire?” he asked.

“I need to get to the console room and make sure that I did those tiny wires just right!” The Doctor in blue replied as he rushed off.

The Doctor sent a questioning look at Rose, who explained, “He might be farsighted."

“Oh.” The Doctor nodded, then it hit him, and he said, “Farsighted, really? Hmmm.”

When they got to the console room, they found that the part human Doctor was already in the hole in the floor. A hand shot up out of the grate, accompanied by the Doctor's voice. “Glasses.”

The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and handed the spectacles to his counterpart below. A minute later, the blue-suited Doctor climbed out of the flooring. “False alarm,” he explained cheerfully. “Got all of the wires right.” He then went and stood near the monitor, looked at Rose, and asked, “Ready to see those eucalinictus trees?”

The other Doctor held out his hand and ordered, “Give me back my glasses.”

“You know, I actually need them, and you don't,” he defended himself.

“They're mine.”

“You don't even need-”

Rose could see where this was going, and decided to stop the brewing fight before it got any farther. “Doctors,” she called. Both stopped and turned towards her. “Technically, they belong to both of you, and you're fighting over a pair of glasses, seriously?” She looked back and forth between them and declared, “I have a solution.”

Both Doctors nodded at her to continue.

“Okay. It's really simple. You,” she pointed at the part human Doctor who was wearing those oh, so sexy glasses, “give them back.” She held up a finger when he began to protest. “Your eyes could get worse wearing the wrong glasses. You need a proper eye exam and then you both will have your very own sexy specs-” She cut herself off when she realized what she had said. _What the hell is wrong with you today Tyler? Get it together, you used to be so good at hiding it!_ “Anyway,” she continued, trying to act like nothing occurred, “that's what I think you should do. It only makes sense.”

Both Doctors had a reaction to what she said. The one wearing the brown suit put his hands in his pocket and had a, 'you really think so?' look on his face, which was very quickly replaced by a nonchalant expression, like he hadn't heard what she said. If she hadn't been looking at him, she would have missed it.

The part human Doctor didn't even try to make Rose believe he hadn't heard her. He grinned and winked at her before dropping it.

“Well, you heard the lady,” the full Time Lord Doctor said smugly, holding out his hand.

“Fine,” the other one grumbled, took off the glasses, and slapped them into his counterpart's hand. He then added petulantly, “But only because it's a very logical argument.”

“So,” Rose changed the subject, dragging out the 'O' of the word. “Trilaxia Three?”

“Trilaxia Three it is then!”


	6. Welcome to Trilaxia Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the part human Doctor visit the marketplace and have some serious discussions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: a bit of swearing, and some mentions of violence.

Rose helped to fly the time ship again. She manned a section of the console at their direction while the Doctors both moved around the rest of it, in sync with one another. The ride was rougher than the last few trips had been, but they did need a couple of parts after all.

When materialization was complete, Rose was thrown back on the grating. The twin Time Lords had managed to stay upright, and both had automatically went to Rose's aid as soon as she fell. She remembered several other times where she had been thrown to the grating in the past, and did the same thing she did all of those other times; she laughed. This had the Doctor in the blue suit chuckling while he pulled her up, and his counterpart had cracked a small smile.

The Doctor in brown then walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped outside. The other one nodded to Rose with a smile, then nodded towards the door, indicating she should go out. Rose was more than ready to step out onto an alien world with the Doctor for the first time in a very, very long time.

She stepped out of the doors of the TARDIS with her eyes closed, taking a deep breath. She smelled an earthy smell, heard a bird-like creature twittering. The air was cool on her skin, but not cold, and the ground was springy. Speaking of the ground, the planet felt like it had a much lower gravity than Earth.

Rose opened her eyes and was met with a very beautiful sight. She was standing at the edge of a forest, surrounded on 3 sides by very beautiful- and very colorful- trees. The TARDIS sat next to a road that ran along the edge of the forest. She walked up to a tree and placed her hand on it. It had red, yellow, green, and orange just under the peeling bark and its leaves were several shades of red.

"Beautiful," she breathed. "This is the eucalinictus tree?" she asked, fairly sure that it was. "It's just like you described, like people put paint all over it!"

She looked back towards the Doctors, the brown one standing next to a tree nearby, while his counterpart leaned against the TARDIS. Both were taking in her reaction, smiling at her enthusiasm. The blue suited Doctor replied, "Yep!"

The other then pointed down the road and stated, "The markets are this way." He then started down the road leisurely, the other two catching up quickly. "So, Trilaxia Three. This planet is the center of trade for this system. Ships from all over, including other systems come here. Can find many bits that can be used in the TARDIS and in my creations here. As long as it isn't rare, you can get it here. And even some rare things."

The New Doctor took up the talk from there. "We're on the other side of the Milky Way in the 68th century, they're on the credits system with the rest of the galaxy by now." He stopped talking for a second, looked over to Rose, who had her hair tied up in a loose ponytail, and told her, "Rose, you might want to let your hair down to cover your ears."

Rose immediately complied while she asked, "Why's that then?"

"Welll," the Doctor replied, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "The ears are a sensual organ for these people, and it's an offense for a woman to show off her ears to someone who isn't her mate, and never in public." He rushed through his explanation.

"So, it's like flashin' then?" Rose asked. "Good to know. Hidden away then?" She pointed at her ears.

The Time Lord Doctor glanced over at her. "Yeah, all covered up."

They made it to the marketplace after a ten minute walk. Ten minutes of meaningless chitchat, where Rose wanted nothing more than to hold hands with someone, but was unsure if she should. At the market, there were stalls selling all kinds of wares, clothing, accessories, jewelry, house goods, food, parts, and on and on, jumbled in a mish mash with no reason to them, except for the fact that the various farmer's stands were grouped in clumps. Most of the people looked like them, but Rose knew they weren't human, if the comment about their ears was any sort of indication.

As soon as they got to the market, the fully Time Lord Doctor pointed one way and said, "There's a shop this way that should have some of the bits we need. You two should wander the market and don't forget to get some new glasses."

"You won't come with us?" asked Rose. "Or us with you?"

"Nah," he said. "There's no need to. It's just digging into piles of junk for parts. Go on, have fun." With that, he gave her a soft smile, nodded towards the main part of the market, then turned away and disappeared off into the crowd, giving Rose no chance to stop him to at least ask how they could get in touch with him..

"Well, I guess we should get the unpleasant part out of the way first. Off to get those glasses," the Doctor who was still with her said. He took her hand and pulled her through the market behind him.

"How to we contact each other if we need to?" Rose asked. "Just in case."

The Doctor tapped his head at his temple and replied, "Through telepathy."

"I thought you had to touch someone to do that?" Rose questioned.

"Not with another Time Lord or a telepathic being who's telepathy doesn't require touch."

They had arrived at the shop that they were looking for. They entered it to find that it was brighter than she had expected, almost too bright. She browsed the frames around the walls as the Doctor waited for his turn to have his exam. The Doctor was a nervous ball of energy, twitching and bouncing around. He couldn't stay still.

Rose decided to get his mind off of his upcoming exam by having fun with the spectacle frames. She picked up a thick, white pair that looked absurd, put them on, and asked him, "Whaddaya think?" It had the desired effect. The Doctor laughed, and the two of them started trying on different frames.

Finally, the Doctor's time had come and he went back for his exam, dragging his feet the whole time. While he was back there, Rose sat and waited, musing on this two Doctor problem. It was obvious what they were doing. The fully Time Lord Doctor was trying to push her towards the part human one. She was sure that they would have taken her and her mother back to Pete's World and left the part human one there with her if she hadn't have intervened. Though she didn't know why.

If he had succeeded, he would be all alone right now- right after Davros and his playing on all of the Doctor's worst fears, right after having to wipe Donna's memories to keep her alive. She would be extremely worried about a stranger after that, much less someone she loved, someone she knew had a history of being prone to not caring if he survived or not.

She remembered seeing the Doctor's body in one of the parallel worlds- well, actually a pocket universe, an alternate time line that was reversed. The time lines for that world were scary. The Doctor had went straight from the supernova where he had said his goodbye to her, to having to save the Earth, yet again, at Christmas from a race that his people had long ago made extinct, supposedly. He died in the attempt, and Rose knew that he could have escaped easily, but he had chosen to die without someone there by his side stopping him. From then on, one major disaster after another had struck Earth.

While these disasters had been happening, the telltale signs of the Earth about to be moved were also showing up. The bees going back to their home, The Adipose and their fat capsules. The 27 planets was going to happen there too, and the people that were meant to be important to stopping it had all either died, been captured, or had never even met the Doctor at all. She had to act. And she'd have to live with that for the rest of her existence.

Which had her thinking about the things that happened on board the Dalek Crucible- what she had seen- Davros's words.

Her thoughts were broken by the voice of the Doctor, making her jump a little. "Those are some very serious thoughts you're having there, Rose." He sat next to her. "Care to share?"

When had he come out? For that matter, when had she stopped paying attention to her surroundings so much that _The Doctor_ of all people had been able to get that close to her without her knowing?

"Oh, so finished then already?" she deflected. She hoped the Doctor would drop the subject, as she wasn't ready to discuss much of her thoughts.

"Not quite, just have to actually choose my frames, then they'll make the lenses."

It only took them a minute to choose the frames, having each picked out a design from when they were messing about before. Rose said it'd be a good idea to be able to easily tell the prescription pair from the other pair, and the Doctor agreed. The new frames were shaped much like his other pair (she guessed those belonged to his other self now), but had thinner frames. Now, they just had to wait for the lenses to be cut and placed in the frames.

The Doctor chose to pass the time by resuming the previous conversation. "So, what had you thinking so deeply before?"

"'S nothin'," she said, her Cockney accent a bit deeper than usual for her lately.

"That was not 'nothing', Rose," he gently replied. "Whatever it was, you were so deep into your thoughts that you had no idea what was going on around you, and that's not like you at all."

Rose decided to tell him about the most recent thing. "Thinking about yesterday, about the _poisonous_ things Davros said." She had spat the word poisonous, both to let him know what she thought of Davros's words, and to show how she felt about that psycho himself.

"I wasn't there for most of it, what exactly happened from the time I stopped the regeneration?"

So she explained to him as fast as she could. She told him about the TARDIS being pulled to the Crucible with a cronon loop. She told him about stepping out of the TARDIS and Donna being trapped inside. She explained about watching the TARDIS fall into the core of the Crucible, feeling her pain, and knowing that something weird had happened when the TARDIS disappeared, but having to be silent about it because the Daleks thought they had been victorious in destroying the last of the grown time ships.

He had to prod her when she got to the psychotic creator of the Daleks and what he had said. As she went on, his face became more and more stony.

"Martha had shown up on a screen, and was holding some kinda key. She had said that it controlled nuclear warheads buried in the Earth's crust, and that she'd blow up Earth if she had to, if it was the only way to stop the Daleks from destroying everything. It was a great stalling tactic, though I hope she couldn't actually go through it. Then Sarah Jane, Jack, Mickey, and my mother came up on another screen. Jack had a warp star and was using it to try to get the Daleks to stop." She stopped, because she was having trouble going on.

"Where'd Jack get a warp star?" he asked.

"From Sarah Jane. She had one that had been made into a necklace of all things. She said it had been given to her by some soothsayer for, 'the end of days.' Davros had a field day with it." She couldn't go any further with what Davros had said. Rose thought about how she had been a bit proud of everyone for standing up and saying 'no,' for not just allowing the Daleks to go on destroying everything. None of them had succeeded in stopping the Daleks, but they had bought time for Donna and the new Doctor to come. "And then, you came," she finished lamely.

"And so I'm worried about him. I mean, I'd be worried about anyone after that, much less someone I-" she stopped herself then, very much aware of what she was about to say, and who she was about to say it to.

"Much less someone you love," he finished the sentence with a soft, knowing look, grabbing her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

This startled her- since when did the Doctor say things like that? Was this one of the changes brought on by the metacrisis? Another piece of Donna's personality implanted in him? Or could it be something else entirely? _"...and if it's my last chance to say it, Rose Tyler-"_

A uncomfortable silence descended between the two of them, which was broken by the receptionist's approach and announcement that the new glasses were ready. The Doctor stood up, took out his credit stick, and paid for the glasses.

XxXxXxXx

When they stepped outside, the Doctor put his new glasses on, and asked, "So, what do you think? Sexy?" He waggled his eyebrows, and Rose laughed. "Yeah, thought so. Come on, then, let's go look over the market."

They started wandering around the various stalls. The Doctor bought a colorful, silky hair scarf for Rose after she forgot about her ears needing to be covered for a second and wrapped it around her head and under her hair, making sure that all that was showing of her ears was her piercings. Rose got a fluttery, lightweight skirt that could go straight out to the sides if she spun fast enough and a couple of pairs of much needed trousers.

The Doctor didn't mind the shopping, which shocked the hell out of him, though he did grumble about it a bit, because it would be wrong not to. Must be some more bits of Donna coming out. Well, wasn't that just wizard.

They kept talk to questions about what things were and what was going on around them, plus very light stories from times before they knew one another. The heavier stuff could wait for later, both of them just needed to be the Doctor and Rose Tyler at the moment.

He had been watching Rose since she had come back, studying her, cataloging the differences between this Rose, and the pink and yellow girl he had lost a few years ago. What he saw made him uneasy.

This older Rose was thinner, and moved a lot differently. He supposed that a lot of it was the training they would have made her go through in Pete's Torchwood, but he knew that a lot of it could have only come from experience.

Then there was the comment about feeling the time ship's pain. That was filed away with the comment about taste and smell in the other world.

The part that really made him uneasy though, was her behavior. As he observed her, he quickly picked up on the fact that she was constantly keeping an eye on her surroundings. She'd analyze everyone that came near, and finding them not a threat, she'd then return the bulk of her focus back to him, or the stall she was looking at.

All except that one time in the shop when she was waiting on him. Her thoughts had turned inward so much, she hadn't even noticed that he had walked up right next to her. But he knew the look on her face in that moment when she thought no one was looking, he saw it everyday when he looked in the mirror. There was a great deal of guilt there, battles fought, lives lost.

This new Rose Tyler had a dangerous air about her. She reminded him of a soldier, the lion waiting on a zebra to come by, or- his traitorous mind tormented him- a wolf hunting in the woods. He wouldn't want to be that deer. Guilt twisted like a hot knife in his stomach. What had he done to her? Just what the hell had she gone through since the day that they had been separated at that forsaken white wall? Maybe if he hadn't sent her through the last time she would have been able to...

His thoughts were broken by an echo of his own mind, sending a query to him, worried about Rose. _Damn_ , he hadn't kept from sending his guilt and worry down the link with his other self. He was going to have to work on that. _Everything's OK_. He then sent pictures of Rose twirling around in her new skirt. He also let him know that they were going to be getting some food soon and where they would be when they ate, if he felt like showing up. He showed what Rose was doing at that moment. Some other images were also thrown in for good measure, but meant to seem like an accident. If it made him jealous, oh well. The bastard shouldn't be so busy trying to distance himself from this goddess that had swung, literally, into his life.

The aforementioned goddess was currently proving that she was still the same girl underneath. She had zeroed in on a little girl, no older than Tony, who was crying because she couldn't find her mother. The reason that she couldn't find her mum was because she was looking for her mum while her mum was looking for her. The two kept missing each other. Rose was able to keep the little girl near the big water fountain for long enough for her mother to spot her. The mother was crying as she thanked Rose. "Thank you, I was worried she was gone forever! You know how it is." She continued thanking her as her daughter was leading her away.

When Rose returned to him, he said, "Rose Tyler, saving the universe one little girl at a time." This earned him a tongue touched grin, and he couldn't help but stare at that little streak of pink flesh sticking out from between her teeth. Then he remembered her worry over his other self and decided to tell Rose. "While you were over there, he checked in," he let her know, tapping his temple. "He's currently digging in a pile of spare parts that's about as tall as you."

This got him a giggle. "Sounds like tinkerer's heaven. Sure you don't wanna go play?" she teased. There was that tongue again. One of these times, it was going to put in an appearance, and he wasn't going to be responsible for wha- _Oh, for Rassilon's sake_ , he thought. This body was going to have some serious problems with control. He had already had to stop himself from letting his eyes drift to more curvaceous parts several times.

His stomach gave a loud rumble. "Seriously?" We looked down at his belly and asked, "What, am I metabolizing food like a human too?" He shouldn't have been surprised, really, he knew this body had a temperature that compared to a human's, just a hair lower, so it stood to reason that he'd need more calories. "Well, wanna go get some chips?" he asked his companion.

She pretended to think for a moment, "Um, yeah!" she said, as if he were crazy for even suggesting otherwise.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting on the edge of a fountain, eating some chips out of a little paper basket. The Doctor explained that this system had never had newspaper like back on Earth, so they couldn't be expected to put the chips in it.

"One heart, bad eyes, need to eat more often, need to sleep, probably every day." The Doctor sighed. "How the hell do you do it?"

Rose smiled. "Welcome to the human race, Doctor, you'll get used to it eventually." She then turned to face him, with that look on her face that let him know that she had a big question on her mind. "How human are you?" she asked. "I mean, percentage wise- not that it matters or anything," she was quick to let him know. "But, you know, curiosity."

Fair enough. "Oh, about fifteen percent," the Doctor replied. "Just enough to make this life interesting." He finished his chips, wadded up the little paper boat, and tossed it in the trash can. Rose followed suit.

The Doctor was getting a bit insecure again. He looked down at his feet and said in a rush, "Listen, I know this is pretty weird. Two of me and all, with this me being part human. It's a lot to take in, for all three of us. We'll have to relearn to live with each other, and I have to learn to be a whole different kind of person, and not like I usually have to." He had to slow himself down, and look Rose in the eye before he continued. "I understand if it was too much, in the end. I mean, I know I'm not the easiest person to live-"

"We would have had to relearn each other anyway." Rose stopped him from going any further with the rant. "I'm not the same girl I used to be. I've seen things- had to do-" She paused for a moment. "And two of you, yes, it's weird, really weird, but not the most weird thing I've ever seen. A proper regeneration is actually higher on the list of weird, and after that- with no beforehand knowledge, mind you- well, I'm here, aren't I?" She smiled. "We'll figure it out, eventually."

"I sure hope so," the Doctor said, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers.

She watched their hands, looking like she was debating with herself about something. "What is it?" he prodded.

"Would you have really stayed on Earth? Houses, doors, carpets, the whole nine yards?" He knew what she was thinking of; a night spent on an impossible planet orbiting a black hole; a conversation where he said he wanted nothing to do with a house; his realization that he'd be all right if he could hold her forever. She didn't know about the last part.

He took a deep breath, looked her right in the eyes, and told her, "Yeah. Yeah I would've. If that was what you wanted."

"But what about what _you_ want?" she asked, fidgeting.

The Doctor thought about that for a second. He knew what he wanted, but it was far too soon to tell her that. His other self being right there complicated things. "I-I thin- I don- I." He was at a loss for words. Him! Without words!

Rose came to his rescue. "It's okay if you don't know yet. Hell, you just had a big change happen yesterday. Might wanna get settled into this first." He nodded at this, thankful that she provided such an out.

They sat in silence for a moment, Rose watching the people coming and going, the Doctor watching Rose.

"So, what do you want to do now?" the Doctor questioned.

"Dunno," she replied. Rose thought for a minute, then said, "I have an idea. Close your eyes and tell me when to stop." She then stood up, closed her eyes, and started turning in a circle.

Playing along, he closed his eyes, counted to four, then said, "Stop."

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Rose was facing to his right. "We go in as straight a line as we can that way, until we come to something that catches our attention."

"Well then, unknown adventure here we come! Allonsy!"

They took off, skirting people and stalls and stopping every now and then to take in a street performer, or look at an object that caught one of their eyes. Then they came to the entrance of a long alley between two buildings. They peeked into the alley to see if there was anything on the other side worth seeing, when suddenly, both were shoved into the alley.

They landed hard on the ground. Above them stood three rather large men, with the one in the middle holding a blaster. A blaster that was pointed right at the Doctor's lone heart.


	7. Telepathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of Rose's time in Pete's world is explored, and the part human Doctor gets a shock.

Chapter 7: Telepathy

Warning: minor swearing and violence

They landed hard on the ground. Above them stood three rather large men, and the one in the middle had a blaster that was pointed right at the Doctor's lone heart.

“These two look wealthy,” one of the men grunted. He looked like nothing else but a hairless bulldog. “We could get a fortune off of them from their families.”

The Doctor laughed. “Oh, you're barking up the wrong tree mate. You'll find that she-” He nodded his head towards Rose. “-has no family, and I. I have a...brother, but he'd be perfectly happy to be rid of me, as he'd get everything, so don't expect to get any kind of ransom from him.” He didn't add that he and his other self would and could burn up suns for Rose, had done just that, literally, when they were still one person. He also didn't add the fact that Rose did indeed have a family, but Rose's family was sixty-six hundred years in the past. They had to keep advantages after all. But Rose couldn't believe that the full Time Lord Doctor would let anything happen to his other self if he could stop it.

Rose knew that with only one heart, the blaster could kill him before regeneration could start. She resolved that they wouldn't be able to get a blast off if it came to that. She tensed up to get ready to disarm this thug. The Doctor had apparently saw her determination and sent her a wordless plea to relax, for now.

“Silence. I don't believe you. Your brother had better pay.” The one who had spoken was apparently the leader. He waved his blaster, and the other two came around Rose and the Doctor, grabbed them, and pulled them to their feet. They were patted down quickly for weapons, then they were marched through a door in the alley.

“Or what? You'll kill us? You need a better script,” the Doctor cajoled as soon as they were through the door and heading down the stairs behind it. Rose knew that he was baiting their kidnapper, and was wondering what his plan was. For her part, Rose was remaining silent for now, choosing to play meek in order to better surprise them later.

“No, we sell you. I said 'silence.' Do you have no fear for your life?” the bulldog man said. “Then maybe you have fear for hers.” The blaster's nose moved from the Doctor to Rose. Rose could practically see the switch in his mind flipping. But the Doctor showed no outward signs of the Storm raging inside, at least none that someone who didn't know him could see. These people were kidnappers _and_ slavers. She almost felt sorry for them, emphasis on the almost. She was sure that the other Doctor was now apprised of the situation, and wondered what would happen when the Oncoming Storm is angered twice over.

The thought sent hardly controlled shivers through her.

They were being led through dark, dank tunnels that were obviously underneath the city above. The ceilings of the tunnels were low, so that the taller people of the party had to stoop a little bit, and they were just wide enough to fit the Doctor and Rose side by side. They had made turns at several junctions now and Rose was quite lost. She had tried to remember the turns, but started getting the sequence mixed up. She had even tried to find something that marked where the turns were to be made at, but couldn't find anything.

Finally, they were led into a room lined with doors. Behind each of these doors were cells, and most of the cells seemed to be occupied with people, all apparently being held for ransom. When they got to the last cell, the Doctor was pushed into it, falling on the floor. Rose had thought that she was going to be placed into the cell as well, but she was led down the hallway past the cells to a room that would be called nothing other than an interrogation room. She was pushed to the door, and resisted a little to test them. Her resistance was rewarded with her being shoved roughly into the room, hitting the doorway as she went in. Pain blossomed in her shoulder, and she fell.

When she got up, she took a look around. The interrogation room was a standard affair: a couple of chairs, and a small table. Everything was chipped and rusted. She could practically feel the tetanus in the room. Still, it was better than many places she had been thrown in. At least it was cleaned.

Rose Tyler had spent a little over two years traveling with the Doctor, four years in Pete's World, and at least one hundred and fifty universes (she had lost count) getting herself into trouble, and knew her way around an escape by now. She had figured out several ways to escape, get the Doctor, and get out in a very short time. He could guide them out, with his almost perfect memory.

But sometimes, if you want to take down an organization, it's best to do it from the inside. She wanted these kidnappers and slave traders taken down. Might as well wait for now and see why she was here in the interrogation room. She sat down on the other side of the room from the door, facing it, with the wall to her back, and let her memories take over again.

  
XxXxXxXx

  
_One month after being trapped in Pete's World:_

  
Rose Tyler, new recruit at Torchwood, ran through the obstacle course. Today, they were testing her physical agility. From the start line, she had to make 2 laps around the entire course, then jump over 2 hurdles, go up and down a flight of stairs, turn around and do another flight of stairs, go over a low wall, then crawl under a barrier, after that was a 6 foot jump over mud, a rope net, a 4 foot high fence, a chain link fence, getting into a window, moving an “unconscious person”, then finally, she had to do one last lap around the course. She passed, with nearly a minute to spare on the clock.

If it hadn't been for her years of travel with the Doctor, she would have had to do a lot more work to get through this. As it was though, she wanted to crawl into her bed and never get out. No. That was not true, what she really wanted to do was go home. Which was why she was here doing this stupid course, because the only way that she would be able to get access to Torchwood's resources was to become part of the organization. Maybe she could get hold of a vortex manipulator and use it to go back to the day they came through, or maybe the day before, take one of those huge, garish buttons, and use it to slip across. Maybe leave a message for the Doctor when he came back to the TARDIS after the battle, telling him where she would be and that she came back. Yeah, that would work, and not mess up any of the time lines.

Knowing the Doctor, he might have looked for a way to get her back, but would have quickly given it up, because he thought she'd be happy with her mother, Mickey, and her Dad-who-wasn't. After all, that was what she used to want, wasn't it?

She'd have to find her own way back, she was sure of it. But first, she would have to get through this. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger, right?

She massaged her temples. This damned headache had better go away. She walked into the building and got some water, used it to swallow some of the pills in her pocket. She hoped they would work soon, as she had another test this afternoon. Torchwood dealt with alien threats, crashed aliens, and whatnot. Some of those species were telepathic. Some of those species only communicated telepathically. Because of this, Torchwood would test each new recruit for telepathic ability. It was very rare among humans (Rose knew in a couple thousand years, minor telepathic ability would start to be more common), so anyone with a bit of ability was trained just enough to be able to communicate with a telepathic race and build walls to keep others from taking them over. In addition to that, all agents were trained to see through artifacts like perception filters. 

Her paracetamol had worked, but her headache was coming back. She probably should stop grinding her teeth. Maybe. But there was so much that angered her now. Chief amongst those things was that no one seemed to understand why she wanted to go back to her original universe.

Her mother reasoned that if he was coming back, he'd be there already. Then she said that if he wanted to, the Doctor could go back to the day before and warn them. Rose couldn't get her to understand that you couldn't go back on your own time line, nor could she make her understand fixed points- that what happened at Canary Wharf had to happen. She didn't even try to explain how she knew this- the memories of things Seen coming to her in dreams mostly. _I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be._ Her mother thought that she was just after an adrenaline thrill, and told her that there were plenty of safe ways to do just that right there.

Mickey thought that Rose thought this life wasn't good enough, and was angry with Rose that she wouldn't give them another chance.

Rose for her part, thought her mother and Mickey were both hypocrites. The universes had given her Mum the ultimate gift, a chance to be with her husband again, someone she loved and lost and had crossed universes for. The first time they had come to this universe, Mickey had left to be with someone he loved, and could only be with in this universe. Both of them were able to fit right into this universe, taking up roles their parallel counterparts had before. Mickey's (well, really Rickey's) grandmother never even knew her grandson had died.

Later that afternoon, Rose waited outside an office on the tenth floor of Torchwood Tower for her appointment with Doctor Melissa Saroyan, who was the strongest telepath that Torchwood had. Melissa had been trained by non-human telepaths, but Rose couldn't remember where they were from or what species they were- Rixa- something or other.

Rose didn't know what she was expecting. Zener cards? Melissa to hold fingers behind her back and ask how many she was holding up? It certainly wasn't this. The room she was in now didn't look like the office she expected. There was a wide open area with pillows and cushions on the floor. The other half of the room was divided off into two smaller rooms where people could be placed inside without contact with one another. There was a door to the right, where Rose assumed that Melissa Saroyan's office was. Melissa herself was really tall and thin, with oversized features and hair that'd do Hermione Granger proud. Not that Hermione the character existed in this universe- or Harry Potter even.

Dr. Saroyan greeted Rose warmly and had her step through the doorway. Well, you know what they say about assuming. So much for an office here, well, just an office anyway. This looked like a laboratory, which made Rose's stomach clench. There was a chair with a helmet looking device on it and a large metal box that looked like it could have been the opening of a bomb shelter, except for the fact that it had a bunch of wires sticking out of it.

“Has anyone explained to you what we're doing here today?” Melissa asked. She had a casual, non threatening stance, trying to make Rose feel more comfortable with her.

“All I know is that I was supposed to be tested for telepathic abilities today,” Rose nervously replied.

Dr. Saroyan nodded her head, as if she expected that, and said, “What we're doing here is running scans on your mind while you do some basic cognitive things, looking at cards and whatnot. Then I'm going to try to contact you telepathically- just on the surface, enough for you to feel my presence, and we'll do scans while that's going on.”

That didn't sound so bad. At first, they just did photo recognition and listened and sang to music while Rose was sitting on the chair with the helmet device strapped to her head.

“Close your eyes” the doctor said. After a second's hesitation, she complied, then Melissa came forward and put her hand on Rose's arm. She felt a tingly warmth in both her arm, and her mind. Instantly, Rose's ever present headache lessened.

“Open your eyes.”

When Rose opened her eyes, she was startled to find that Melissa was on the other side of the room now, and she had still felt the other woman's hand on her arm. As soon as the realization hit her, the feeling of Melissa's hand on her arm disappeared. A moment later, the warmth in her head faded. Melissa seemed pleased.

The tests were then repeated, but inside the box this time, which turned out to be a sensory deprivation chamber filled with salt water. This time, there was no touching, but the warmth in her mind came...

  
XxXxXxXx

  
The door to the interrogation room opened. Rose just watched the man come in. It wasn't the bulldog man. This one was tall and lanky, built more like the Doctor was in this body. He had long hair, heavy eyebrows, and a Van Dyke beard. She got the distinct impression that this man was the real boss, and everyone else she had seen so far was just muscle.

“Cooperate with me, and your stay will be pleasant. Do you understand?” he threatened in a low voice. He didn't have to add that non-cooperation would be very unpleasant.

Rose nodded, still playing the part of the meek, weak woman.

He got down to business. “Name?”

No reason to lie. “Rose Tyler.” She'd be the picture of cooperation, but she also wasn't going to give this man more information than necessary.

“Occupation.”

She had to think about this one for a minute. “Whaddaya call it, professional traveler?” Close enough.

“Are you from this system? Or have family in this system?“

“No.”

“What system are you from?”

Another thought. “Sol. I'm from a planet called Earth, It's also called Terra, or Sol Three depending on the culture.”

“Never heard of it.”

“I'm not surprised, it's very far away.”

“What brought you here?”

“Parts. Dunno what parts, I'm just the passenger.”

“And your friend?”

“What about 'im?”

“Is he from this system? Or the system you're from?”

“Neither, but I can't remember the name Kast-something or another it's a longer name.” She decided to turn the tables on this questioning. “Who are you, and why am I here?”

He sat back in his chair and regarded her before answering. “If you have to have a name, call me Rian. As for why you are here, you were supposed to be here for a ransom, but you have no family we can contact for it, so-”

Rose interrupted, “My friend has a brother, who's here on this planet right now.” She then remembered what the blue suited Doctor had said and added, “They aren't on good terms with one 'nother, but they're family, ya know?” She didn't let him know that they looked like twins, him not knowing that could come in handy later on. She then leaned in, like she was going to tell him a great secret and put her hand on his arm. “Jus' between you and me, his brother fancies me, ya know, and I think that's the reason they haven't killed each other yet. He'd do anything I ask,” she finished with a nod, then pulled back.

She could practically see the dollar signs in Rian's eyes. This was too easy. Careful to maintain the non threatening aura she had established, she told him, “Jus' put me in the cell with my friend, and I'll get the name of the place his brother would be looking for parts, so you can get in contact with him. I'd very much like my freedom.”

Rian left Rose alone in the room again, and she let out a deep breath. Hopefully, what she did worked enough.

  
XxXxXxXx

  
_Eight weeks after the walls between the universe closed._

Rose walked the hallways on the tenth floor. She was officially a Torchwood agent now, but there was one area of training she still needed. She stopped at the door to Melissa Saroyan's office/ lab and knocked. She had been shocked to find out that she was an even stronger telepath than Melissa. Even though her abilities mostly lay in emotion, she was strong in the ability to send and receive information. Melissa was teaching her how to use and control her abilities.

The fact that Rose was a telepath was classified information; classified so much, that only Pete and Melissa knew. No one wanted the fact that, “the Vitex heiress,” was a telepath to get out there. Enough people questioned Rose as it was. With aliens being a known and accepted fact in this universe's Earth, people would assume that Rose wasn't who she claimed to be (she wasn't, but that was the point, wasn't it?), and that she, “put the whammy,” on the Tylers.

None of them needed even more publicity, and her mother didn't need the stress. Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler was about 4 weeks pregnant, and ecstatic about it. Her mother didn't even know about Rose's new found ability and Rose wasn't going to tell her. _There'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human._

That day's telepathy session ended early when Rose got a call from her Dad-who-wasn't. Someone had seen a big, greenish thing come out of a fat man's head with a lot of blue light. Rose went looking for some vinegar, just in case.

  
XxXxXxXx

  
The Doctor didn't know where Rose had been taken, and that worried him. He had been keeping in contact with his other self since they went into the tunnels, relaying directions, who was involved, and well, everything. His self that was still fully Time Lord was pissed off, to say the least, like he could have done better. One good thing about having a telepathic duplicate, though. You could work from both sides of the issue at once.

The door to his cell opened, and there stood the two thugs from earlier, holding Rose between them. He got up quickly from the floor where he was sitting and rushed toward Rose, who was then roughly pushed into the cell and into the Doctor's arms. The door slammed shut.

“What happened?” the Doctor questioned Rose as soon as they were alone, while automatically checking her over for injuries.

“Oh, you know, just a rousing game of 'twenty questions',” Rose replied, nonchalantly.

She hissed when he came to her shoulder. With a frown, she let him push back her jean jacket so he could look at her bare shoulder. What he saw made him angrier than he already was. He was looking at a deep blue and purple bruise. Her shoulder had to have been hit very hard to leave such an angry mark so quickly. It looked odd though, a bit yellow at the edges. “What happened here?” he asked in a very low voice.

“They pushed me into an interrogation room. When I went through the door, my shoulder hit the frame of it, that's all.”

“That's all?” His voice had become dark now.

“Yes, that's all,” Rose firmly replied. She then pulled his hand off of her shoulder and pulled the jacket back over it. She then took a step towards the wall, and sat down to wait, trying to figure out how to tell the Doctor what she had learned while she was in the interrogation room with Rian.

The Doctor sat down next to her against the wall and watched her. She looked thoroughly pissed off, a sentiment he agreed with fully. She also kept looking over at him like she had something she needed to say to him, but couldn't without their kidnappers knowing about what she had said.

Suddenly, she looked up at him, directly in his eyes, she seemed to have come to a decision. She got a pointed look on her face, pointed at him, and tapped her temple while tipping her head to the side exactly like she does when she's asking a question. It only took the Doctor a moment to understand what she was doing, she was asking him, “Are you using your telepathic connection?”

He nodded at her. She thought for a moment, then held out her hand, palm out, like a high five. The same gesture that crossing guards use for.. oh “Stop.” He gave her a questioning look, to which she 'replied' with a 'you just dribbled on your shirt' look and then held up 2 fingers and tapped her chest while shaking her head. .

Okay, so she was asking him to not report anything else to his two hearted self. Why was that, were these not Trilaxians? Some other race that could pick up on his and his other self’s telepathy? Whatever Rose knew, he trusted her enough to not ask him to do something like that unless she had a good reason.

When he nodded to her to let her know that he wasn't sending anything else, she reached out, grabbed his hand, and laced her fingers through his. Then he got a very big shock, as he felt a warm, golden presence at the edge of his consciousness. A very familiar voice in a strange, dual layered tone spoke, “ _Doctor, can you hear me?_ ”


	8. Distractions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: swearing, and graphic violence

As soon as the Doctor nodded confirmation that he wasn't talking to his other self any longer, Rose grabbed his hand. She focused on her ability, and asked in her mind, _“Doctor, can you hear me?”_

 _“Rose?!”_ The Doctor's shock was written all over his face, all over his mind, and even showed in the way he stiffened up.

 _“Hello Doctor,”_ Rose said in her mind, then quickly added, _“I know this is a huge shock. I bet you're wondering why I had you shut down the connection with him, aren't you? Well this is why. I'd like to keep this between you and me for right now. I'd rather tell him myself later on my own.”_

The Doctor was still in shock. _“What? How? When? What?”_

He could be so eloquent.

Rose knew that the Doctor wouldn't let her tell what she had found out until he got some answers and calmed down, so she gave him the story about how she found out that she was telepathic. She told him using a combination of memories, language, and feelings. Since the story was told telepathically, it was able to be conveyed much faster and more thoroughly than it would have been able to be said out loud in language. When she was finished showing him the story, she gave the Doctor a moment to process it, then asked, _“are we okay?”_

 _“Yeah, yeah, we're okay,”_ the Doctor thought back at her. He was looking at her with intense interest and curiosity, like she was a puzzle that needed to be figured out.

 _“Good,”_ Rose said. _“Now that we have that out of the way, we can get to what I need to tell you.”_ She then proceeded to show him everything that happened from the time he was put in this cell to the time she was put into it. This also included the information she got from Rian's mind about how many people in the operation, where they send the slaves, etc.

The Doctor admonished her for looking into a person's mind without their consent, to which Rose replied, _“I know, it felt skeevy, but as far as I'm concerned, people who kidnap and enslave others don't have the right to privacy in their minds.”_ The Doctor didn't argue with her.

Rose and the Doctor then outlined a plan to get themselves and everyone else out of the place. If everything worked out, no one would die, and all five people involved in the operation would be arrested. The whole thing just took a few minutes to set up.

When Rose broke the telepathy, she felt a bit empty and slightly disoriented for a moment. She had never undertaken a telepathy session that was so intense before. The connection between the Doctors had to be restored fairly quickly, so this Doctor could tell his other self his part in their plan. After that was finished, the pair laid the groundwork for getting the guards to take both of them out of the cell at the same time, and it was proven that there were in fact listening devices in the cells.

When the door opened again, there were two guards there, one from their initial kidnapping, and an unfamiliar one. The unfamiliar one told Rose that they were ready for the pair. Both Rose and the Doctor stood up, Rose in the lead, fingers locked with the Doctor's. She “pulled” the Doctor along behind her through the door. Once they were through the door, they began to put their plan in motion. Both looked around, making sure that these two guards were the only two right there. The guards would be most alert right at the door, so they allowed themselves to be taken down the hallway ten steps, then just as they were passing an open door to an empty cell, they both acted as one, attacking their kidnappers.

The Doctor slammed the open door into his guard. While the guard was gaining his feet again, he put his hands on the thug's temples and sent him into a telepathically induced sleep. Rose had simply turned around and put her hand on her guard's arm, sending peace into him, then sleep. The pair then worked together to drag both guards into the empty cell. All weapons were then taken from the unconscious thugs. Rose examined the weapons, and the Doctor had a disapproving look on his face when Rose decided to slide a knife into her boot and the blaster into the small of her back, but Rose didn't see it.

They went around the corner, to the door that Rose had learned was the office of the boss, Rian. Rose knew that there would be at least two people in this room, the bulldog faced man, and Rian. They heard the voices on the other side of the door getting closer and hid behind the door.

It opened. Rose and the Doctor tried to pull the same telepathic sleep trick that they had pulled before, but this time, it didn't work. Apparently, Rian had been waiting for them. Both Rian and the bulldog faced man pulled laser blasters on Rose and the Doctor. Both of the escapees immediately put their hands up in the universal, “I surrender,” gesture. The Doctor had instinctively backed up some, but Rose held her ground.

“Back in the cell, both of you,” the bulldog faced man growled at the pair. He then gestured with his blaster for Rose and the Doctor to pass him and follow Rian. Rose used the fact that they were in a hallway to her advantage.

As she passed the bulldog faced man, she then suddenly grabbed the nose of his blaster and twisted it down the hall towards Rian and away from the Doctor and herself. The blaster went off, narrowly missing Rian, who immediately tried to get away. At the same time she grabbed the blaster, she had dropped and used that momentum to aid her in deflecting the weapon.

This is when Rose realized that the Trilaxians had a distinct disadvantage here. Rose was from a planet with twice the pull of gravity than most of the planets of Trilaxia. Because of that, the average human had a better bone density than the average Trilaxian. The bulldog faced man's wrist easily broke with a sickening crack. He howled and dropped the blaster. It skittered over to the Doctor, who kicked it out of everyone's reach.

After Rose's drop, she was close to the floor, she kicked her leg out and hit Rian's legs before he could get too far away. The tall, thin man with the Van Dyke beard crashed to the floor, where the Doctor was on him in a second, taking his blaster away from him.

The bulldog faced man and Rian were both taken to another open cell and locked inside.

XxXxXxXx

The Doctor knew that this had been a distinct possibility when the thin man with the beard and the heavier man who looked like a bulldog pulled their weapons, but he had hoped it wouldn't come to that. He and Rose held their hands up in surrender and were being led back to their cell. All of a sudden, Rose turned, grabbed the blaster in the bulldog faced man's hand, dropped, and twisted. The blaster went off, nearly shooting the one Rose called Rian, and the Doctor heard a sickening crack. The bulldog man's wrist had been broken. The blaster clattered to the floor, and the Doctor kicked it out of the way, just as Rose kicked out and hit Rian in the legs, sending him sprawling to the floor, his blaster clattered across the floor. The Doctor was on Rian in a moment, before he could get up or grab the blaster.

Rose got off of the floor in a second, and the pair threw the two kidnappers into another open cell. When they had a moment to breathe, the Doctor regarded Rose with interest. There was more evidence of the things she had been through since they had been separated by that damned wall. She had fought with a speed and efficiency that he didn't know she was capable of. He shouldn't like it, he really shouldn't. But he did.

She was standing there, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, breathing heavily, chest moving with each breath. She had a small cut on her cheek, he didn't know where it came from, but it must have happened while he had been busy with Rian. He stood over in front of her and put his hand on her good shoulder, looking down at her. She opened her eyes, whiskey and chocolate eyes with little flecks of golden color staring right into his. The Doctor moved his hand from her shoulder, up to her neck, tracing her cheek just under the cut on it with his thumb. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“It's just a scratch,” Rose said. “Yeah, I'm good. We're good. Still pumping adrenaline, you know.”

He did know. “That's..” a swallow, “um, good.” When he felt her breath, he realized that he had been leaning in towards her slowly. He glanced down at her mouth, to see her worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. When she let go of her lip, he closed the distance between the two of them, capturing her lips with his own, the hand that wasn't at her neck found a place on her side as he pressed her into the wall she had been leaning against.

Rose only hesitated a moment, when her lips started moving with his. One hand moved to his neck, wrapping around it and teasing the hair at the back of it. The kiss was gentle, but passionate, more like several mini kisses, their lips breaking apart and coming together several times. He took his hand off her neck and also brought it down to her waist.

Suddenly, her free hand came up to his chest, roughly pushing him away. Startled, he backed away. _Shit, what the hell did I do, I messed it all up, it was way, way too soon. Fuck! I made a mess of everything and because of this mess, now she's gonna hate me and, and..._

But she wasn't paying him any mind at the moment. She had whipped around and pulled the blaster out of the back of her pants in a smooth motion and trained it on someone not very far down the hall who had just been running toward them. The fifth man. How the hell did they forget the fifth man? He was the shortest of the five kidnappers, and he was baby faced- he looked all of twelve in human terms.

“I'm giving you one chance,” Rose told him. “Put down that knife, right now.” Standing there slightly disheveled, lips swollen from their heated kiss, she looked like nothing else but an avenging angel. He really, really, _really_ should not be liking this. _Get yourself under control, your lapse just now could have gotten you both killed!_

The last man looked back and forth between the Doctor and Rose when the Doctor said, “Oh just drop the damned thing and slide it over here.” The kidnapper then did the wise thing, he dropped the knife, and kicked it over to where the Doctor was.

“Good,” Rose spoke. The Doctor bent down to pick the knife up and toss it into the nearby office. She looked over to the Doctor, just for a moment, but it was just enough time for the last thug to dive for the dropped blaster that had been knocked into the shadows and raise it at the Doctor.

They say that time slows when your life is on the line, well, maybe your perception of it makes it seem slower. The mind focuses on more things at once, everything gets a bit brighter and clearer. But this time, it seemed like time sped up, like it was the Doctor going in slow motion. A blaster went off, and the Doctor expected to be hit with the laser blast.

Instead, it was the last thug who dropped. Rose stood there with the blaster still outstretched. The end of the muzzle glowed blue from the charge. Her face was a mask of rage. She had just killed someone- for him. She dropped the blaster to the floor, stalked over to the body, and kicked it.

“Get up you fucking useless pile of garbage,” she growled at it.

The lump groaned. He wasn't dead. Just stunned. The Doctor had been sure that the last man had been killed. He picked up the blaster off of the floor and examined it. There was a small switch on the side, a stunner setting. He looked at the other blasters nearby, both were set on the kill settings. When Rose had picked up the blaster off of the floor, she had seen the settings and switched it.

He went over and helped Rose put the fifth and last man in the cell they had occupied. When they were alone again, he asked, only half jokingly, “So, any more slavers around?”

“No, that should have been all of them,” she replied seriously. Then suddenly, she stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. “I thought I wouldn't be fast enough,” she whispered in his ear.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, reveling in the knowledge that he hadn't royally fucked everything up. “I'm okay. I'm here,” he whispered into her hair.

The pair were holding one another when they heard a familiar voice jovially say, “Well, so much for the rescue. Looks like the two of you have it all well in hand.”

Rose pulled away from the Doctor in the blue suit and rounded on the brown- suited, dual- hearted Doctor. “Where the _hell_ have you been?”


	9. Self Hatred

“Where the hell have you been?” Rose asked the Doctor who had just shown up.

“Well.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It took a bit longer than expected to get the authorities to come. Then I got down here as soon as possible. And you seem to be a bit ahead of schedule.”

Rose looked behind him. There were no police in sight. She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, who then explaained, “They'll be here in a moment.” A pause. “Well, soon.” An ear tug. “Welll, maybe I'd better check on their progress. Back in a tick!” He then rushed off.

While he was gone, the part human Doctor and Rose started opening up the cell doors of the people who had been kidnapped before them. One person rushed out at Rose, but she was able to get her subdued before she could cause any harm to herself or anyone else. Everyone else though, was thankful that they would be able to be returned home. Just as they were opening the last cell, the original Doctor returned with the local police in tow.

The trio then explained everything to the authorities (keeping all mentions of telepathy and of not being from around there out of the explanation), showed them which cells the five kidnappers/ slavers were tucked away in, and then slipped away.

While they were walking through the underground passages, Rose laughed and said, “Oh, our life, I love it. First trip back, already helped a little girl find her mother, saved several people from kidnappers, been locked up, escaped, and bought a gorgeous outfit!”

“I'm sorry,” apologized the fully Time Lord Doctor from behind her.

Rose stopped, turned around, and looked at him. He looked like he'd been kicked. “What? Why're you saying sorry?” She paused to let him answer, then told him, “For one, you weren't even there for most of it. Two, dinnit I mention the gorgeous outfit? And three, this is the first time I've felt alive in years!” She grinned, then realization hit her. “Oh, you thought I was being sarcastic, dinnit you? 'Cause I wasn't you know, I really do love this.”

The Doctor looked at her incredulously. “Rose, I saw those blasters. You could have been killed! You're not safe!”

So he wanted to keep her safe, she understood and wanted the reverse as well, but he needed to understand something she had learned for herself. “Oh Doctor, anyone, even you, could die at any moment at any day, no matter what they're doing. No one is ever safe,” Rose calmly replied, trying to make him see things from her point of view, but she could see that what she said didn't make it any better.

She began pacing back and forth. “Look, 's simple. When I was over there,” she referred to Pete's World. “I did a lot of things, handled a couple of invasions, even helped broker a few peace deals. One of which went a bit wrong when the guard of one of the ambassadors decided that blowing everyone up was better than peace. Which I stopped, by the way.”

Both Doctors were looking at her with a bit of pride, but she didn't notice as she continued her pacing and explanation. “The worst burn I ever received was from saving Tony from getting burned. One of the worst cuts came from being a little overzealous with a knife. And I wound up in a coma once, it was only for a day, but you know wha' happened to put me into it?” She stopped pacing and looked at both of the Doctors, who were standing right next to each other. Both men had identical looks of horror on their faces at the thought of her being injured badly enough to be in a coma.

“I was walking back to my flat late one night after catching up on some paperwork. Paperwork! 'M telling you, forget whatever Dante said, the 7th circle of hell is endless, mind numbing paperwork. Anyway, I was walking back to the flat, and a driver ran off the road and hit me. A 14 year old kid snuck out of his house, stole his dad's car and went for a joyride. I had a concussion, 3 broken ribs, a broken arm, and some internal bleeding.”

Both Doctors were pale now. Rose finished her rant off with, “So, stop it with the 'you're not safe,' because no one's ever safe. If I wanted to be safe, I would have stayed the hell on the Powell Estate with a crap mediocre life, and a boyfriend who bored me to tears, and I would have never ran off with you in the first place. Never mind coming back after being sent off 'for my own good' when we were up against the Dalek Emperor, or again when we were up against the Daleks and Cybermen, or crossed hundreds of universes!”

She stopped herself, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, she continued softly, “Jus' being alive isn't safe. I know what I'm doing. I know the risks. And I had an amazing time today. It would have been better if you had joined us,” she said pointedly to the Time Lord Doctor, who looked down at his feet. With that, she turned around, started walking off, and called out, “Now lets get outta these tunnels, I hate being underground.”

“Rose,” the newer Doctor called out. “The way out is this way.”

“Right then, lead the way.”

XxXxXxXx

When they got out of the tunnels, they walked quietly through the marketplace at a leisurely pace back towards the TARDIS.

“So, did you find everything you needed?” Rose broke the quiet as they passed a street magician.

“Yeah. Found some other bits and bobs I could use in the future too,” the Doctor wearing brown replied.

“Good.” Rose then stopped, frozen, looking at a booth that sold stationery. “Oh.”

“What is it?” the Doctor in Blue asked as he came over to where Rose stood. He looked at where Rose was looking and exclaimed, “Oh ho! So that's where it came from!” He then walked over to the booth.

While he was over at the booth, the other Doctor inquired as to what was going on, but before she could answer, the part human Doctor came back with what they had noticed. It was a small pack of light blue paper and matching envelopes, with dark blue lines around the edges that looked almost TARDIS blue, and a little swirly symbol in the top corner. When the fully Time Lord Doctor saw it, he understood immediately.

It was the paper that Rose's letter to herself was written on.

XxXxXxXx

When they got back to the TARDIS, the Doctors worked together to put it in the Vortex while they did repairs. Rose went to get a shower, taking her paper with her.

She let the hot water beat down her back and thought about the events of the day. She'd been kissed by the Doctor. No, she corrected herself, she'd been kissed by A Doctor. The part human one who she had spent most of the day with. She didn't miss the way he watched her all day. At first, it was wary, like he was worried about her, then, as the day progressed, the way he watched her changed, became more.

She thought about the timing of the kiss. It was just after she disarmed the two kidnappers. She had been worried that he wouldn't want her anymore when he found out about the new her, but the Doctor- the part human one anyway- seemed to actually like it.

The whole thing scared her. It'd be bad enough with just one of him, but now there were two- who were both the same man, mostly. Literally the same man less than thirty-six hours before.

She climbed out of the shower and got dressed, noticing that her new clothes from Trilaxia Three were in her room already. She was tired, but knew that sleep wouldn't come for a while, and she'd never be able to get her mind to shut down if she tried now. She'd go to the kitchen (galley, her mind reminded her again) and grab a snack. Then she'd figure out what to do next.

In the galley, she made herself a sandwich and poured herself a fizzy, purple drink out of the refrigerator. She ate and drank in silence, then washed her glass. She left the galley and just started walking, running her hand along the coral walls, letting the time ship choose her destination.

In very little time, she found herself walking into the console room. It was empty, and she sat down on the grating, leaned up against the console, her temple touching the coral.

“Hello, beautiful,” she greeted the TARDIS telepathically. She felt the same warm feeling she had when she hugged the coral pillar the day before. “Has he been treating you right? Maybe a little less use of the mallet?” She got the distinct impression from the ship that the Doctor was never going to be rid of that thing.

“Has he been treating himself all right?” This time, she got a mournful hum. Of course the Doctor wasn't treating himself right. She got images, of the Doctor and Martha, of the Doctor and Donna. The images told her the whole, sad story. The images ended with a picture of Donna, and a wave of sadness. “I know sweetheart, I know. I'd have loved to know her in this universe. I'd love to thank her for being there for the Doctor when I couldn't be.”

She pulled her head away from the console when the Doctor came into the room. With his jacket off, and his shirt sleeves rolled up, he was even sexier than usual. She looked down at his trousers, and noted that they were brown. Two-hearted Doctor then.

When the Doctor noticed her, his eyes widened a little. He hadn't been expecting her to be there. “Figured you'd be asleep by now,” he greeted her, then popped open the piece of grating that had been open that morning and sat down on the edge of the opening, his legs dangling into the space below.

“Need any help?” Rose asked, trying to make herself useful.

“Nah, just checking on the space-time locator, running diagnostics on it before we try to materialize again.” He dropped into the space below, and Rose heard the distinctive noise of the sonic screwdriver being used. “So why're you up?” the Doctor's voice questioned.

“Couldn't sleep.” she replied, leaning over the hole in the floor to peer in and watch him. “Sometimes it's a bit hard to turn the noggin off,” she explained.

The Doctor glanced up at her and nodded, then went back to his work.

“But then, I guess you have a bit of an idea of how that is, don't ya?” She said.

“Just a bit,” the Doctor chuckled. Rose heard the sonic again, saw the blue glow from the tip of it. “You know, I have a tea from Metannus. Lovely place, well, it is in the 56th century, anyway. It's really good as a sleep aid. If you like, I'll go brew some up,” he offered, gazing up at her with a questioning look on his face.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine,” she replied. “I don't sleep so much these days anyway.”

The Doctor seemed to find whatever he was looking at to his satisfaction, and climbed out of the hole in the floor. He put the grating back into its place, then went over to the console and started typing and looking at the swirly lines on the monitor. Rose stood up off of the grating and went over to the jump seat.

“He's sleeping,” he spoke up suddenly. “In case you were wondering. He seems to do that a lot now. Almost as bad as you lot, sleeping your lives away.” That particular rant was so common that he said it without even thinking.

“Yeah, he told me he had to sleep a lot more, had this disgusted face on the whole time.” She laughed. “You shoulda seen his reaction when he learned he actually needed the glasses!”

The Doctor chuckled at that, then stopped laughing and got a serious look on his face. “You've changed, Rose.”

Rose felt like her stomach was in her throat. This was it, the fully Time lord Doctor saw how dark she had become, and didn't like it. “Yeah. Yeah, I have. I had to. People do that over time,” she defended herself.

The Doctor turned around and leaned against the console with his arms and legs crossed. “You're harder....” The Doctor closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. When he opened them, they were pained. “This is my fault, you were never meant to be-”

“Stop. Just stop right there. I know what your doing. I know how much the words of that psychotic troll in a wheelchair got to you. He was using your own fears against you. Add on what happened t-”

“Rose-” The Doctor tried to interrupt, but she wasn't going to let him stop her from telling him how she sees him.

“I know how much you hate yourself. I see the self loathing every time you can't save someone, or you have to kill someone, and when you make a mistake, and I get it, I really do. It never gets any easier. But you have got to remember a few things.” She stopped and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then she put her hands on his shoulders and made him look back into her eyes.

“First of all, you are just a man. An extraordinary man, yes, but a flesh and blood man, yeah? You can't save everyone. You can make mistakes. You can lose your temper. I don't expect you to be perfect. The second thing is, You have saved so many more people than you could ever harm. This universe wouldn't even exist anymore without you. Finally, the people you take along with you get the opportunity to do good, to learn how to live better. Some of those people come across very bad things, yes, but 'm sure you've warned them of the dangers and they made their own choices, Doctor.”

“Don't listen to what Davros said.” She paused for a moment. “As for me, yes, I've changed since the day we got separated. I had to, to survive, but 'm still me, an' I hope you can see that.” She finished her speech, turned, and went to leave, before he could reject her.

“Rose,” the Doctor quietly called before she could take a step.

Rose turned back and looked at him nervously. “Yeah?”

He looked down at his feet, while rubbing the back of his neck, then looked back up at Rose. “I know about you and.... Am I supposed to just....?” He couldn't get the words out.

She pulled him into a hug, then pulled back, put her hands on either side of his face, cupping it, and said, “Stop actin' like 'm supposed to go off with him. I am not going to leave you.” She stood up on her tip toes and placed the lightest chaste kiss she could at the corner of his mouth, then pulled back. He had a stunned look.

“What are we doing here, Rose?”

He didn't need to explain it more. Rose understood what he was getting at. “I don' know. The last couple of days have been...unusual, even for us.” She thought for a moment before adding, “I think we need to figure out who we all are now, and how we fit together. I've just got back, he just had a major change yesterday, and you...you know,” she finished with a nervous look at the Doctor.

The Doctor considered her for a moment, then stuck his hands in his pockets, looked down, swallowed hard, and nodded his head.

There was an awkward pause, then Rose broke the moment with, “It's been a long day, I'm gonna, just...” She trailed off, pointing behind her at the entrance to the corridor.

“Yeah.”

She walked off. Just before she stepped through the entrance to the corridor that led to the rest of the ship, she looked back at the Doctor, who had turned his back to her and was fiddling with things on the console, head down. She walked down the corridors, once again running her hands against the wall.

XxXxXxXx

_Earlier_

After Rose went to go take her shower and change her clothes, The brown suited Doctor immediately went to work on the part they had needed. The part human Doctor took Rose's purchases out of his bigger on the inside pockets and folded them up in a neat pile on the jump seat, with the skirt on the top of the pile, just in case she came back to get her things before he could take them to her. He was fully aware of the identical man behind him watching his every move. When he was finished with Rose's purchases, he pulled his sonic out and went to work alongside his double.

“I don't need-” the dual-hearted Doctor started, but his double cut him off.

“Maybe I want to, maybe it's nice to have another pair of hands that actually know what they are doing,” the part human Doctor stated in Gallifreyan, reminding the other of another benefit. Someone else who can speak their language. It had been so long before they had heard the language they grew up with spoken.

They worked mostly in silence for 10 minutes, 52.3 seconds, only speaking to ask the other to hold something or hand something over before the full Time Lord Doctor asked in Gallifreyan, “How is it?”

The Doctor wearing the blue suit sat back, took off his glasses, and looked at his counterpart, who was still looking down at the wire in his hand. “Better than I expected, really. There's a lot to get used to, of course, but it is a lot better knowing that she doesn't seem to think any less of me than she does you. Before I even explained it to her, she actually said she was looking at this like a regeneration.” He smiled fondly at the memory. before looking down at the grating and continuing in a serious tone. “I'm worried about her, actually.” He told his other self about Rose always being on guard, about how she looked when he came back from his eye exam, about his worries. The Doctors both agreed to keep an eye on her, not that they needed to agree on that. It was a given.

He then told the original Doctor what happened after they were locked up, being careful to not tell his counterpart about Rose's telepathy. He had promised her that he'd keep her secret for now. “.....She was just standing there, leaning with her back against the wall and I went to check on her to make sure she wasn't hurt. That's when...I kissed her,” he mumbled, not looking at his counterpart and fiddling with his sonic. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to tell his other self this. To make him jealous? To brag?

The other Doctor stilled and closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath, then admitted, “Then she pushed me away. Not just a push; a shove, so that I went across the hall and against the other wall.” His other self was looking far too smug at that news. “Turns out that we had forgotten the last kidnapper, who was sneaking up on us, and Rose stopped him too. Saved my life, she did.” He didn't get into the part where he thought she had killed someone for him, that being so close to one of the things Davros had taunted the man in front of him about just over a day ago. He wasn't that cruel.

He came to a decision, something he had been thinking of since he talked to Rose about his other self. “You know, she was worried about you, still is, I expect. I know why you're pushing her away. But your little plan to drop us off in Pete's World didn't happen. And, well, there's the fact that she won't leave you unless you make her, so-”

“Exactly what am I supposed to do? Stand by and watch the two of you?” He looked devastated, thinking about watching the two of them be together with him on the sidelines, it'd be a fate worse than having Rose in another universe.

“No, Dumbo, try using that big brain of yours and think. I know you're capable of it.” he retorted sarcastically, unaware of just how much like Donna he sounded at the moment.

“You're not suggesting that....” the fully Time Lord Doctor replied, looking at his double like he had suddenly sprouted tentacles. More incredulous than that, as he had actually seen a man sprout tentacles before.

“What I am suggesting, is that we let Rose figure out what she wants, and I'm willing to go with whatever actually makes her happy, not what I think makes her happy,” he told the other Doctor pointedly.

“But, we can't...I can't... she won't...” The Doctor in brown stuttered.

How was he to get through to his other self, without breaking his promise? He knew that his other self would have a hard time getting over the lifespan difference, but he could help with the telepathic requirements. He stood up, stretched, and alluded, “I think that there is a lot more than meets the eye with Rose. We don't know what she will or won't or could do.” He yawned, then looked disgusted with himself.

This amused his other self. “You'd better go sleep your life away,” he gloated.

“Shut up, Spaceman,” he snapped. Then turned to walk out of the console room, leaving his other self to think about what he said, and the implications.

XxXxXxXx

The Doctor was walking the corridor, wondering where Rose was. He had been about to fall down in his bed, when he remembered the massive bruise on her shoulder. That had to hurt, and he needed to fix it. He went to her room to get her so that he could do just that, but she wasn't there. He started checking her favorite places, the library, the media room, he was about to check the wardrobe when he saw her, wandering down the corridors. Her eyes were closed. Her hand ran along the wall. She had a peaceful look on her face. When she ran out of wall, she took a couple of steps forward right into the middle of where two passageways intersected and started turning in a slow circle, eyes still closed.

What was she doing? Her eyes were closed, was she sleepwalking? He knew she didn't have a tendency to sleepwalk before, but it's been years since he last saw her, and no telling how long it had been for her. She had already admitted to being up much longer hours than she should have, and a lack of sleep was a cause of sleepwalking.

When she faced him, she she immediately began walking forward, her hand stretching out to run her fingers along the coral walls again. Just as she was about to get to him, she stopped. She turned her head to the side, like she was listening to something, then smiled and whispered, “Well then, let's see where we are.” She opened her eyes and jumped, having expected to be at a room, and not looking a Doctor in the face.

“Hi.” He grinned.

“Hello,” she automatically responded. “What are you up to? I thought you were asleep.”

“I was just looking for you, actually. We need to take care of that bruise,” he told her.

“Oh.” She frowned. “We don't need to, I'm okay.” She appeared to be nervous, like she didn't want to be alone with him at that moment. Really, he couldn't blame her. He did kiss her earlier, and she's probably confused. Damn, why couldn't he control himself?

“I saw that bruise, it's got to hurt, it won't take long,” he replied, taking her hand. He refused to let things get weird between them. A door appeared in the hallway, and he pulled Rose through it into the infirmary. “Hop up,” he told her, pointing at the exam table in the room. “The Doctor will see you now,” he joked, causing Rose to roll her eyes.

“That was so cheesy,” she teased. But she smiled. She got up on the table, and sat at the edge. Now he knew she was nervous, she wasn't swinging her legs like she usually did. She was chewing on her thumb. This was more than just nervousness at being alone with him after the heated kiss earlier. This was almost fear. Why?

He needed to do this for her, though, no matter the reason for her fear. The time ship seemed to agree with him, as she had moved the infirmary for him. He came up to her, and gently pushed up the loose sleeve of her pajamas to expose her shoulder.

She closed her eyes and let out a large breath. When he got the area that the bruise was in exposed, what he saw confused him. His first thought was that either she or the other Doctor had taken care of it already, except both of them could work a dermal regenerator better than this. Her shoulder looked like the injury was about three to three and a half weeks ago, based on how dark it was before. Yet he knew that she had sustained the injury just a few hours before. There wasn't much left to show where the bruise was. Just a yellowish patch. He remembered the way it looked the first time he saw it, a bit yellowish at the edges- like it had been healing a couple of days, he realized.

He looked up at Rose's face. She looked apprehensive. So this was why she had been acting like she was scared. What else was she hiding?

A million thoughts ran through his head, but all he could say was, “How?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest chapter yet, this one gave me some serious fits.
> 
> Hope I'm doing okay with their interactions.


	10. Let You Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Rose's time in Pete's World is explored, and the Doctor and Rose have a very angsty discussion.

Chapter 10: Let You Go

Rose knew that she was only avoiding sleep now. She walked down the halls, letting the ship guide her again. This time, she moved down the corridors with her eyes closed, just enjoying the feel of the ship. She ran out of wall and knew she had come to a junction between two corridors. She took two steps out to where she knew the center of the junction was, then turned slowly in a circle, feeling for directions. When she felt she was facing the right way, she started walking forward again. After a moment, she felt like she had to stop, that she was where she was supposed to be. She opened her eyes to see the Doctor standing there, grinning like a loon.

“Hi.”

He had pulled her to the infirmary, despite her protests. That was the last place she wanted to be right now, but she couldn't protest too much, because that would also have him asking too many questions. It was time to face the music, with this Doctor, at least. He had been okay with the telepathy, but this might be too much, too fast. The TARDIS had been so “helpful” in bringing the infirmary closer. 

“The Doctor will see you now.” Oh my god, did he really just..? Well, it wasn't the first time. _Come here. I think you need a Doctor._

“That was so cheesy.” She was able to smile for a moment, before she went ahead and gave into the inevitable. 

He hesitated for a moment, then decided on pushing her very loose pajama sleeves up her arm to expose her shoulder. Rose closed her eyes. _Please, please, let let him be okay with this._ She felt warm reassurance in the back of her mind from the time ship. It didn't stop her from being scared, though. 

The Doctor was very gentle, no doubt remembering just how dark her bruise was just hours before. When he got to the place her bruise was on her shoulder, more on her arm than shoulder, really, she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and opened her eyes.

He looked at the spot, eyebrows furrowed, then he looked over to the dermal regenerator that he had planned on using, shook his head in a negative, and looked back at the bruise. Then she saw the understanding dawning on his face. He looked at her, back to the bruise, and then back into her eyes. She could practically see the thoughts swirling in his head. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, speechless, and Rose started chewing on her lip, worried about his reaction. _Just say something, dammit!_

Finally, he did say something, one word, _“How?”_

XxXxXxXx

_Four months after being trapped in the parallel world:_

Rose Tyler was making her way towards Torchwood Tower as fast as she could, breaking a couple of speed limits on the way. She had been called in ten minutes ago about a ship that had landed in Richmond Park. It had been a pretty rough landing, but the aliens seemed to be okay. As far as anyone could tell, these were just people having a breakdown. But Rose knew better than to believe that without seeing the aliens for herself, she'd seen very dangerous aliens use the, 'my ship has crashed,' trick before. 

This wasn't normally something Rose would deal with, but the aliens seemed to have no speech that the translation software could work with for communication. They seemed to communicate purely through non verbal means. The most likely being telepathy. 

Still, usually Rose wouldn't have been called in on this, but the person that would have, her friend and mentor Melissa Saroyan, had learned just last week that her husband and herself had finally conceived. It was Torchwood policy that a pregnant woman could not do any field work, deal with first contact situations, teleport, or be near dangerous or unknown technology for the sake of the unborn child. This mission was requiring three of the 4 banned activities to be done. Rose was the only one that Torchwood had who was a strong enough telepath to make contact with another telepath without touch and who had experience in first contact situations. 

As soon as she got to Torchwood Tower, she went straight to her office to get her gear. This included a reverse engineered Billitian stunner, the design of which had been modified to have a 'kill' setting. Rose hated the thing, but it was policy that field agents have one, and she was able to compromise by keeping it on the 'stun' settings, which were enough for almost every species. 

She wouldn't have bothered, but she really needed access to Torchwood's resources and technical staff. She was making friends with two incredibly brilliant people; Malcom Taylor and Toshiko Sato. Both of whom had worked on the ugly buttons that had brought her here and saved her life. Both had also been in the small group of people who knew Rose's true origins, and it was very difficult to make friends with people when your whole life was a lie-a classified lie at that. 

During her downtime, Rose would sort through the archives and uncatalogued items for anything she could use in her personal project. In return for the items, she would identify whatever she could. Last week, she had found a vortex manipulator amongst the unidentified objects. These were hard enough to get in their proper time, much less three thousand years before they were invented. She remembered Jack's vortex manipulator, and Jack had explained it to Rose as best as he could. As far as she could tell, the only thing wrong with it was that it's xanthica crystal was broken. Xanthica crystals shared many properties with quartz, but were better and less brittle. Maybe she could get hold of another one, or a different crystal oscillator.

She grabbed her personal teleport device from the top drawer of her desk and fastened the bulky, black band around her wrist. The hated thing looked a lot like a vortex manipulator, she had thought when she was first assigned the device. She really should start keeping it on her, it had come in useful many times, even if it did make her feel nauseous. She typed in the coordinates that she had been given into the device, closed her eyes, and pressed the button, disappearing in a flash of green light.

She rematerialized at the park, right next to the black van that was always dispatched to these sorts of things. After she was sure she wasn't going to lose the last thing she had eaten (pizza, again), she knocked on the back doors, calling out, “Agent Tyler, reporting.”

The doors opened a second later, and she was looking at the smiling face and spiky bleached hair of Jake Simmonds. Jake and her childhood friend, Mickey, had both been brought into the fold on Rose's secret. Rose's mum, however, was still kept out of the loop. Jackie was 3 months gone on her pregnancy, and a bit irritable, because her morning sickness was still hitting her. 

“What's up, Jakey boy?” Rose questioned as soon as she got in, finding out if anything had changed in the status of the mission in the last fourteen minutes. 

“No change, Tyler,” Jake replied. “We're in a holding pattern until we can get some communication going. It's pretty much your show right now.” He then proceeded to show her everything they had on these aliens, including pictures of them and more angles of the ship they were in. Rose was happy to find out that she did in fact know this species, or at least one that looked and communicated the same. These were Vilanatocca. At least that's what the Doctor had called them. They probably called themselves [picture of several of their people]. Their communication was purely telepathic, though they did have a written 'language' to convey messages across space. 

The Doctor and Rose had dealt with a Vilanatocca merchant once, back when he was all leather and ears. When they had left the merchant, the Doctor had told Rose about them. They were peaceful, and this would be easy.  
\---

What Rose had forgotten was that she had encountered the Vilanatocca merchant 1500 years in the future and in another universe. These two people had been fleeing from war, and were easily spooked. The stance of the humans wasn't helping anything, either, but they wouldn't back off of being on guard.

Rose was also unused to the method of communication. They communicated in pictures and feelings, sort of like the TARDIS would communicate sometimes, but the Old Girl would communicate in pictures that Rose could understand, whereas the Vilanatocca communicated in pictures that meant something to them. 

It was a simple misunderstanding, so simple, but because of it, Rose wound up on the wrong end of a Haladana sword and the the skittish Vilanatocca were killed as soon as Rose dropped.  
\---

The Torchwood doctors said that Rose should have taken close to 6 weeks before she was healed enough to be able to be back in the field. That there should have been some rehab. Three days after the accident, you couldn't even tell that Rose had been injured in the first place, except for some tenderness, and the area being a slightly lighter color. This time, only Pete, the doctors who had worked on Rose, and Jake knew. Everyone else had been told that the injury wasn't much more than a flesh wound. 

Rose knew that she had to be on guard now. She'd work for Torchwood, but get the old Preachers team back together, just in case. She didn't trust a bunch of humans with her secrets and technology of other times and places. 

Dear God, she was getting as bad as the Doctor. The thought should be disturbing, but it gave Rose a thrill. 

A week after the accident, Rose was woken in the middle of the night by a familiar and very welcome voice calling her name.

_“Rose.”_

XxXxXxXx

“I don' know,” Rose admitted, “I found out about the fast healing 4 months after being trapped there. About a week before Bad Wolf Bay. I had taken a pretty bad wound from a pair of crashed aliens who were skittish. We had a bit of a misunderstanding.” 

The Doctor was sitting in the chair next to the bed she was sitting on, head held in his hands. He mumbled something that Rose couldn't understand.

“What was that?” Rose questioned. 

“How did you become telepathic and have healing that's.... _that_ quick, and none of us know about it?”

Before she could even think about what she might say in response to that, he shot up out of the chair and grabbed a scanner. He scanned the shoulder that had the faint traces of the bruise on it, then went over to her other side and scanned the other shoulder, She supposed that it was for comparison. The whole time he did this, he was mumbling in Gallifreyan. He watched the monitor as the results came up, mumbling more and running his fingers through his hair. Being as this was her body he was looking at-

“Doctor?” She said, in a small voice. “Say something in a language that I’ll be able to understand, please, you're scaring me a bit.”

At her words, he stopped and looked at her, eyes a bit frantic. “I'm sorry, Rose.” He started scratching his head and shuffling from one foot to the other, all manic energy. “Did you happen to run any tests after the accident?” he asked.

“Of course I did. There wasn't much we could look into, at the time, what little we were able to find out pointed to my cellular regeneration rate being off the scale. What did your scan tell you?” she wondered, nodding at the device, worried about the answer.

“Pretty much the same thing,” the Doctor replied, somewhat distractedly, as he picked up a different piece of diagnostic equipment. 

“Doctor,” she warned. “ I do not want to be a test subject.”

“I need to know if-”

“No.”

“Just one vial of blood?”

“No.”

“A scan, then, just one,” he practically begged. “I need to be sure that you are okay, Rose.”

Oh dear, how could she turn that down? “I'm perfectly fine, Doctor, but I'll give you your one scan for your peace of mind, under one condition.” 

He closed his eyes. “Anything, well, just about anything. What's your condition?” 

Rose crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. “That this stays between you and me.”

His face fell. “What?” he squeaked. “First, you want me to keep the telepathy from him, and now I have to keep THIS from him as well?” 

“Yes,” she replied. Before she could get a chance to explain it to him, he interrupted her.

“Do you have any idea what a rate of cellular regeneration at that level implies?” 

“Beings who heal this fast and completely tend to have an extremely long life,” Rose replied calmly, looking him right in the eyes. 

“Okay, so you do know, then.” He started pacing. “Do you know why my other self is pushing you away?” 

“I imagine that it's the same reasons as always, the lifespan, and genuinely not believing you're worth being loved? What I don't get is why you're – this you- isn't bein' distant.” 

“Yes! Do you see, this changes everything! If he-”

“Maybe that's what I’m afraid of,” Rose said quietly, interrupting him.

The Doctor regarded her for a moment, then replied, barely above a whisper, “I don't understand this, Rose.”

She thought for a minute, then told him, “Put yourself in my place. You are in love with someone who's lifespan is so much greater than yours, someone for whom you'd do anything to make sure they weren't lonely. But you never are sure where you stand with tha' person.” She held up her hand to stop him when he opened his mouth to say something. “But you're sure that the fact that you have such a short life compared to theirs is the number one reason why that person is hot and cold. In fact, that person pretty much said that to you before. Suddenly, you learn that your lifespan could more closely match that person's. Sounds great, righ'? All you have to do is tell them that they don' have ta worry about being alone for centuries to millennia after your death, and you get to be with that person.”

She could see that the Doctor still didn't quite understand, so she added, “But would you want to finally be able to have a relationship with that someone only because you had a closer lifespan now? I'd always be wondering if the only reason we were together is because of this. I jus' wannna be accepted, flaws and human lifespan and all.” 

She saw the understanding in his eyes.

“But there's one thing I don't get, one thing I don't understand, why is everyone trying to push me towards you?” she wondered. “It doesn't make any sense.” A thought then hit her. “Unless....”

The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, and that's when she knew she was on the right track.

“You...” She went over to the Doctor and grabbed him in a fierce hug. “Oh, my Doctor, why dinnit you tell me?” she said softly in his ear. His arms wrapped around her, and he put his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. 

“It's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to admit that you suddenly went from being nearly immortal to having a lifespan closer to a human's,” he whispered after a moment.

He then pulled back and looked Rose right in the eye. He then nearly quoted what he had said long ago in front of a chippy. “I age now, I don't regenerate anymore. I'm human-ish now. I'll whither and d-” He chocked on the last syllable. “And now I find out about you, and, maybe it's better, easier, if I just...Let you...go.” He started backing away slowly.

“No!” she argued frantically. “You can't!”

“Rose, you're not gonna wanna watch me grow old, watch me.... and you're going to have to watch every….everyone except _him_. I'm sorry.” 

He turned away from her, and her heart broke. She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and turned him back around to face her. “I. I-” she stuttered, not able to get her thoughts to form into language. Then a thought occurred to her. She held her hand up to the side of his head, as if she was going to touch his temple, but before touching, she stopped, and sent a questioning look at the Doctor. He gave a small nod, and she made contact, closing her eyes.

She poured all her thoughts and feelings on the matter into his mind. Her worry about his other self, her heartbreak for him, her love for both of them, as well as his earlier leather and ears self. She showed him her sorrow, her joy, her happiness. And how she wouldn't, no couldn't be happy with one while she knew the other was miserable.

Finally, she found words, and pulled back from the edges of his mind. When she opened her eyes, she saw the beginnings of tears in his.

“Everyone's trying to make me choose, but I could never do so,” she stated. “And I don' have a clue what 'm doing, but I do know this: I will never leave you, either of you. Not without a damned good reason. And a lifespan difference isn't a good enough reason to me.” Another horrible thought came to her. “No-not that we _have_ to, um,...you know. You know, whatever _you_ want.”

“Are you sure about this?” the Doctor asked, hands in his pockets, looking at her intently. He then swallowed, and told her, “It's going to hurt, when I’m...you know.” While he was talking, his right hand came out of his pocket and he gestured at her.

“I know. But every moment of the pain will be worth it.” Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around her again. 

“You love me enough to put up with two of me, for however long I wind up living?” he marveled. 

Rose replied by grabbing the lapels of his jacket and kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: quartz crystals are actually really good crystal oscillators, and are commonly used in clocks.  
> You just learned something new, or maybe not, maybe that was just me.


	11. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Whimey

Chapter 11 Wibbly Wobbly Timey Whimey

Warning: swearing, mentions of self gratification

He was fully aware that this was the second time in just a few hours that he was _Snogging Rose Tyler_ , but that was all he was aware of outside of the actual act. She had grabbed the lapels of his blue suit jacket and kissed him. The kiss was meant to be quick and gentle, but after a moment, there was nothing gentle about this kiss, it was all passion. Tongue, teeth, hands, lips. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist so that he could pull her closer against him. One of her hands was on the back of his neck. The other was plunged into his hair. His hands ran under the hem of her pajama top to touch the flesh on the small of her back.

Suddenly, he became aware that they had been moving backwards, so that she was now against the wall. He marveled at this human-ish body. That's twice in one day that he had moved without realizing he had done so. Other things were different than his old self, like how he was getting a bit uncomfortable. At the moment, he was cursing himself for his tendency to wear very tight trousers. He felt himself press against her, and she made a moaning sound in his mouth. He wanted to hear her make that sound aga... what?

Rose had frozen. She was pulling back as much as she could when pressed against the wall like she was. He backed off quickly, worried that he had pushed her too far too fast. Just as he was about to open his mouth to apologize, when she breathlessly spoke.

“You- your..” She couldn't get her words out, so she tapped her temple, indicating telepathy. What about telepathy? He wasn't using his right then. Wait, was he? His brain had recently somewhat shorted out. He checked his memory, nope, no telepathy use.

“What about my telepathy? I wasn't going in to your head, if you're wondering. Well, not that I know of, I guess it's possible to not notice, it's happened before. One time in-” he cut himself off this time, fully aware he was about to go into rambling and that this wasn't the time to do so. “Well, you get the drift. Sorry.” He put his hands in his trouser pockets and looked sheepish.

While he was going into ramble mode, Rose seemed to have found her speech again. “No, no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have.” He was starting to get worried now. “I didn't think. Your telepathic connection. Could he... you know?”

Oh, she was worried his other self would know what they were up to.

“Oh! No, we have to actively send information to one another.” A disturbing thought came to him. “Except with very strong emo- oh...um.”

“What, Doctor?” she asked with wide eyes.

Suddenly, there was a very familiar, strong warmth in the back of his mind, accompanied by a soft musical sound. The TARDIS was trying to communicate with him. He opened his mind fully to let her in, and was shown a box, with two people inside of it, a circle around the box, and a second box next to it, with it's own circle, and one person inside of that box. What looked like waves was coming from the heads of the person alone and one of the two people inside of the other box hit the circles around the boxes and stopped, not getting to the other person.

“Oh, so she's shielding the two of you from one another while you're in here.” Rose said in relief. Interpreting the image the same way he did.

“Yeah. Wait, you got that too?” he questioned her, suddenly remembering the reason they were in the infirmary in the first place.

“Well, yeah, I'm sure she wanted to allay my fears,” Rose guessed.

The pair have an awkward moment, that the Doctor broke with a yawn. “Not used to being tired this easily,” he complained. “I would have been in bed by now, but, well, I remembered your shoulder.”

His yawn triggered one in Rose as well. “Yeah, I was going to go to sleep soon, too. Was jus'...avoiding it,” Rose admitted.

“Why's that, then?”

Another admission. “Nightmares.”

That's what he figured. “Have any last night?” he queried, knowing that the time ship would help with nightmares sometimes, if the person really needed sleep.

“No, but I was exhausted, and there's no nightmares when I’m exhausted.” She shrugged.

“Well come on then.” He lead her out of the med-bay and into the hallway, where they walked until they came to Rose's room, which the time ship had moved closer.

“Well, I guess this is me.” Rose turned around and faced the Doctor, hand on the doorknob, with the door cracked open.

“Yep,” he said popping the 'p'. “Looks like it.” He gave his ear a quick tug, then his hands were back in his pockets. Then he made his decision and offered, “You know, I have to sleep anyway, and, um, I could sleep with you?”

Rose's face fell. “I- I'm not...ready for- even if there was just one of you, it's too-”

“Sleep, I mean. Just sleep. Help each other chase the nightmares away. Not anything else,” he clarified quickly, then looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. “But never mind, it's okay, I shouldn't push.” He pointed down the hall. “I'll just- good night, Rose.”

Before he took more than 2 steps, Rose quietly called, “Goodnight, my Doctor.”

He walked to his room, the one he now shared with his other self, and stepped inside, quickly shucking the suit and putting on a pair of pajamas. He slid into bed, and laid there for a few minutes, remembering the feel of Rose's lips, the moan she made before she remembered their telepathic connection.

This part human body was going to be the death of him, he decided. He couldn't control it. Even now, all alone, he could feel himself hardening again, and no amount of willpower was going to stop it. He just wanted to go to sleep. In desperation, he pushed himself down, and -oh. He remembered that human males would often touch themselves to release tension. It wasn't something he had ever done before. Time Lords didn't....but it might be the only way he was going to get this body to calm down enough to let him sleep. It was worth a shot anyway. For science, yeah, that was it. This was an experiment.

_Oh, Fuck_

Oh, so that's why! Well, that was brilliant. Not as good as the real act he was just mimicking would be, but nice. He cleaned himself up, and was asleep within a minute.

XxXxXxXx

After five hours of uneventful sleep, Rose woke up and got dressed. She split open the protective wrapping on the paper they had just purchased and pulled a sheet out. She then unfolded the letter she had received on her first jump that made it to this universe and started copying it down, word for word. Rose was careful to not touch the two pieces of paper together, as they were the same, literally.

After Rose finished her letter, she sealed it up in one of the matching envelopes and left her room to go to the console room. On her way there, she passed the library and saw the two-hearted Doctor coming down the last spiral staircase. She stopped and took a minute to watch this Doctor when he didn't seem to be aware of her. He looked lost, his whole body buried under the weight of the universe. She hadn't seen him look like this since the early days of her traveling with him.

When he got to the bottom of the staircase, he noticed Rose standing there. He hesitated for a second, but then came towards her, straightening up and putting his hands in his pockets.

“Hey there, still having trouble sleeping?” he asked jovially. “I still have that tea,” he offered.

“I'm good, actually, don't sleep nearly as much as I used to,” she replied, then added, “Torchwood hours,” by way of explanation.

The Doctor had reached her, and he had a question. “How was it? Working for them in another universe?”

They had started walking towards the console room together. “It was something to do.” She shrugged. “Something I felt comfortable enough doing. It also got me access to everything I needed.”

“Everything you needed for what?” he asked, genuinely confused. They had reached the console room.

“To figure out how to come back, Silly. The only reason I joined up with the organization in the first place was so that I could have access to the information and technology that got me there in the first place.”

The Doctor stopped suddenly, spun around and looked at her, anger in his eyes. “I told Pete that those things damaged the-”

“You really think I'd do that?” she nearly yelled. “Really?” It hurt. “I worked for years trying to get across without doing more damage. I came up with a way to get across, but only using the cracks that appear every so often. Both Pete's and mine were safe with the damage that was occurring from the Daleks and their tests. It's Mum's and Mickey's that were built much closer to the design of the old ones, and I told them not to-”

The Doctor looked suitably chastised. “I'm sorry, Rose, I didn't-”

“Save it. I really don't want to talk about this right now. I was coming to find you to tell you that I have the letter to myself finished. 'M ready to complete this half of the causality loop.”

“Okay, then, time and place?” the Doctor asked, ready to move on himself.

“The night that Donna started traveling with you, 7:15 P.M., two alleys to the left of the Adipose building, when you're looking at it from the street.” She paused, remembering what was about to happen, and then added, “I'm sorry.”

“For what?” he asked, “you don't have to apologize to me for this.” He was setting coordinates and getting ready to start the materialization sequence.

“Yes, I do. 'M apologizing for what's about to happen.”

He looked confused.

“Just go out there, and stop me from leaving that alley,” she said. “I'll take care of the rest.”

XxXxXxXx

The empty alley was filled with wind and the noise of the universe as the big, blue box faded into sight, with the bright fog light on top showing up first.

The Doctor stepped out, looked around at the alley, then looked back in the box at someone. “It's empty,” he pointed out.

A voice from inside answered, “Just wait. It'll be any moment.”

He shrugged, and stepped farther into the alley, leaving the door to the TARDIS cracked open. Suddenly, a figure started fading into sight, very slowly. When the woman was solid, she bent over, coughing. “Blimey, that never gets any easier,” she said in a thick, Cockney accent. She straightened up and started walking towards the mouth of the alley.

The Doctor walked up behind her. She suddenly spun around, dropping and knocking him over facedown on the ground. She was then on his back, holding him down and pressing the muzzle of her Billitian blaster into the back of his head.

“You picked the wrong girl to mug tonight,” she growled at him, still unaware of who he was.

“It's me,” he squeaked, “Rose Tyler, since when do you carry a gun?”

“Doctor?” she asked, like she was afraid that she was hearing things.

“Yes, it's me, Rose. Do you think that you could-”

Suddenly, the muzzle of the blaster was gone from the back of his head, and she was off of him. He was able to roll over. She grabbed his hand and helped him stand up quickly. “Oh, God, Doctor, I'm so sorry!”

“Ah, that's better, not staring down the muzzle of a gun. Well, I say staring, but you can't really do that if it's pointed at the back of your head. Welll, you can, if you've got eyes in the back of your head like the-”

Rose grabbed the lapels of his coat and kissed him hard. He automatically started kissing her back, then she pulled back. “It's you, it's really you!” She was running her hands over his chest, feeling his hearts beat. “I'm home, and it's over.” Then her eyes widened. “Doctor, the stars are going out!”

“I'm already way past that, Rose,” the Doctor let her know.

Rose's face fell. “'M too late, aren't I?” she asked.

At this point, the older Rose chose to speak up. “Both too late, and too early in the time line, actually.”

The younger Rose spun around, facing her older self and the TARDIS. “You can't be here, what are you thinking?” She started looking back and forth between the Doctor and herself.

“I'm here, because I remember being here. Jus' don't touch me and we'll be okay.”

At that point, the Adipose ship appeared in the sky, and the Doctor and both Roses watched it. The older Rose then looked at her younger self and assured her. “You don't have to do anything with this invasion, it's been taken care of already.”

“Okay, so why am I here twice?” the younger Rose then asked her older self.

“To stop you from getting to the Doctor too soon.”

“What? Why?” her younger self asked, shocked that she'd ever suggest that to herself.

“Timing is everything,” the Doctor told the younger Rose. “You have to be at exactly the right place, at the right time to stop the darkness. My younger self can't know you're in this universe yet, or it won't work out right.”

“Plus, there's something you need to do,” the older Rose added. “Here are your directions. It's not going to be easy, not by a long shot, but you'll be able to do it.” She handed the Doctor a blue envelope, which was then passed to the younger version.

“It's Daleks,” she informed the younger Rose, who's face went through several emotions as she processed this information, that the Daleks were still not gone.

“I should have known,” she growled. “They always survive.”

“You should go now,” the older Rose told her younger self. “It'll all work out. You've got about four months in your own time line before you're me. First, though, go over to that fence.” She pointed at the fence in question, just barely visible. “Watch the end of this invasion. You won' wanna miss it, cutest invasion ever.” She grinned.

Her younger self nodded and turned to go, but then turned back and gave the Doctor a fierce hug. The Doctor hugged her back for a moment, then pulled away and let her know that “it really is rather cute, and you're gonna miss it if you don't get going. I'll see you later.”

The younger Rose nodded and replied, “Not if I see ya first.” She then turned and walked over to the barrier that her other self pointed out, not looking back at the pair behind her.

The Doctor turned to go, and Rose followed him into the TARDIS. Then the wheezing, groaning sound was heard, leaves and trash blew everywhere, and the blue box faded out of existence.

XxXxXxXx  
Back in Pete's World, the younger Rose held real, tangible proof that this worked out after all. Plus, she kisesed the Doctor, and the Doctor kissed her back!

She opens the letter that her older self gave her. It was time to see what she had to say.

_Hi me,_

_I wish I could have let you go to the Doctor, but if you did now, you wouldn't be able to do what needs done._

_Don't worry. He'll be all right. Tonight he took a new companion, Donna Noble, and she'll keep him straight. You met her tonight actually, the ginger woman who was going on about her car keys while everyone else around her was still trying to get glimpses of the little fat babies._

_Seriously, the cutest invasion ever._

_Now, down to business. The purpose of this letter. These are the things you need to take care of. Start as soon as you next see Dad._

_*Make sure that Dad and Tony have a way to get to this universe, just in case. Give them the old super phone from the trip when Mickey stayed._

_*Remember Donna Noble, she's important. The next time you meet her, you'll need to fix what went wrong in the time lines. No matter what, remember this: THAT WORLD IS NOT RIGHT it is one of the never-should-have-beens. You'll be there for a while._

_*Approach UNIT as soon as possible. Look for a man named Alistair Gordon Lethbridge- Stewart. He already knows who you are. You won't have to hide with him._

_*Keep Donna safe. She's needed to reverse the time lines. Use the TARDIS. She won't be able to make a trip, but she can help in other ways._

_*April 2008. Keep an eye on the Royal Hope Hospital. When you see the plasma coils, send Sarah Jane. She'll save half the Earth. Remember, it will all be fixed._

_*Christmas 2008. Don't be in London, get Donna out any way you can._

_*Find Jack. (yes, that Jack, he's alive) It won't be too hard to find him, he's still going by the same name. He'll need three teleport devices for when the Sontarans come._

_*Three weeks after the poisoned gas, the stars start going out in that dimension. That's when Donna will come with you._

_*On your next jump, you'll be in this universe again, permanently. Take the big gun, you'll need it to save Donna's grandfather and mother._

_*Don't be the last out of the TARDIS. You'll want to be last, to pull an old trick of ours, but don't. The situation will be resolved, and you know as well as I do that option is too dangerous to do for everyone if there are any other options available._

_Good luck_

 

She then read a second piece of paper that was inside of the envelope. It was a much shorter letter to herself, but when she read it, she knew why it was shorter.

_Give these instructions to Pete, and make sure they are carried out. Memorize this page, as you won't have it to copy from when you write this letter._

_*There's a machine in the Archives labeled as a Pilotian weapon. It's mislabeled- no surprise. The Pilotians never had that technology. I'm not sure what it really is, but if you modify it's programming from the current frequency to a frequency of 198478.474, it will close the cracks faster._

_*Make sure Pete uses it once the cracks start closing on their own. If he has to come over, make sure he knows that he has to hit the button on the machine, then hit the button on the jumper right after._

_*Set up all of the one off parts on the Dimension Cannon to self destruct once the walls are closed too much to jump back and forth anymore. We do not want that technology to get into the wrong hands._

_*Make sure the plans for it are destroyed too, in case some of the parts can be remade._

XxXxXxXx

Rose Tyler closed the TARDIS door, leaned against it, slid down the wall, and let the mask she had been wearing since she steeled herself to finish this paradox slip off.

She then opened her eyes, and saw double. No, not double. Just both of the Doctors. Apparently, while they were taking care of the paradox, the part human Doctor had woken up and come to the console room.

“What happened out there?” he asked, with concern etched all over his face. “Are you okay?”

“No, I'm not, but I will be.”


	12. Donna's World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose tells the Doctors what happened in the world created around Donna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of character death, reversed character death, but they still died.

The Doctor woke up with a start. This was the first time since the Time War that he had slept and dreamed and not had his head filled with death, destruction, damnation, devastation, demolition, desolation, deterioration -lots of d words really. No, instead of the usual tormentors, he had his head filled with images of a golden goddess, tormenting him in a different way.

It was a good thing he hadn't slept in the same bed as her last night. He got out of the bed and hopped in the shower, letting the hot water invigorate him.

He got out of the shower and considered his mug in the mirror. At least with this new body, he didn't have to learn to recognize himself, which was good, because he really liked this shape. It was a shame he had to share it with the stuck up prick who thought he knew what was best for everyone. But then again, he noticed the looks Rose gave them out of the corner of his eye when he was near his other self. Pure lust that was. He didn't understand it himself, but he was part human now, give it some time and he might.

He picked up the straight razor and shaving cream and started shaving the new growth away. Apparently, this body's hair would grow faster. He was going to have to shave every day.

He finished drying his hair, and went to work on it. When it stuck up like he liked it, he then left the en suite and got dressed. No tie today- he was going to wear a black jumper with the suit.

He was just about to the console room when he could hear Rose's voice. “Jus' wait, It'll be any moment.”

What was going on? He walked into the console room to see Rose looking at the scanner and watching what was happening outside. She then gave a big sigh and walked towards the door, opened it, and stepped outside, unaware that he had entered the room.

He went over to the scanner, which was closer to where he was than the doors were, and took a quick look at it in hopes of finding out what his other self and Rose were up to. What he saw made him laugh. His other self was lying on the ground with a blonde woman wearing a very familiar blue leather jacket on his back. Rose stood to the side watching it happen, shaking her head.

Oh, they were taking care of the paradox. The Doctor was very glad he had went to look at the scanner instead of popping his head out of the door. It wouldn't do to have the younger Rose see him yet. Older Rose had been shocked to discover two of him existed in the same time frame.

He watched the causality loop being closed, which had apparently included his other self having his “superior” arse kicked by a short, blonde girl. Apparently, the Rose of their time line hadn't seen fit to inform his other self that might happen- and he thoroughly approved. No wait, he shouldn't approve, but then again....

He felt intense jealousy when the younger Rose pulled his other self in for a quick snog. And surprise when his other self reciprocated in kind. He hadn't expected that.

And then the Rose they had come to stop finally noticed the Rose of his time line. Two Roses. And that's when it hit him, why Rose seemed to like the fact that there was two of him now.

He watched the rest of the paradox play out silently. Just when he realized that maybe he should get some sound on the screen, the two that were left outside were coming back in. When the door closed, Rose leaned against it with her eyes closed, then slid down the wall, letting her happy mask drop. Oh no, he hadn't thought about how this paradox might affect her.

“What happened out there?” he asked her, wishing he had put the sound on after all. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes spoke of seeing much more than her years. How old was she? 23? No, that wasn't right, her little brother was 3 now, so they had been in Pete's world at least 4 years. So 25? With anyone else, he'd be able to tell down to the minute how old they were, but this was Rose, and he'd never been able to see her time line. The only person that he had never been able to see any of their personal past or future no matter how much he tried. Probably because of how much her time line ran with his. Well, there was his mind wandering off again.

“No, I'm not, but I will be,” Rose answered the Doctor in blue's question. She then got up off of the floor, walked over to the jump seat, and sat . “Jus' bein' stupid, “ she said.

“You're not stupid, Rose. Don't say that,” he chided her. “What happened?” That time, the Doctor directed his question to his Time Lord counterpart.

“We closed the time loop,” he received in reply.

“I just sent myself to send all of our friends to their deaths in a parallel world created around Donna,” Rose replied.

“But that never happened.” the Doctor in brown reassured her.

“Yes, it did, maybe not to others, but I remember it in vivid detail, and Do-” She swallowed the woman's name. “Sh-she remembered it to.”

“What happened there?” the blue-suited Doctor gently asked.

“Donna turned right,” Rose said simply. “It was the most normal day in the world. Donna had a choice between two different career paths, and she went right, where in this world, she went left."

“And what else changed?” the Time Lord Doctor prompted her to continue.

“You died,” she told him. “There was a flood, and you...didn't, you know. I got there just in time to see UNIT wheeling your...body out.” Her voice broke.

The Doctors were both in shock. She had seen that. They both remembered occasions where they thought that Rose was dead for sure. Particularly when they had been stuck in games at the end of his leather life. The part human Doctor came over to Rose and pulled her into a hug.

“I'm- we're right here, Rose. That never happened,” he tried to reassure her.

Rose pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes. “It did there. It could have here, it almost did, dinnit it?” she accused. “You see, I worked it out. You wouldn't 'ave even tried to get out if you 'adn't 'ad Donna right there, would ya 'ave?” Her voice had started to become shrill by the end of the last sentence. The more upset she got, the thicker her native accent became.

“We'll never know,” the full Time Lord Doctor spoke. He had his head hung low.

Rose looked at him and said in a low voice, “Well, after that, everything started falling apart. The following April, The Royal Hope Hospital was transported to the moon, and only one person survived,”

“The next Christmas, a replica of the Titanic dropped out of the sky and landed on London.” Her voice broke as she continued. “I had actually transported myself up there to try to stop it, before it fell, but it didn't work, all I was able to do was get the poor guy up on the bridge to eject the main drives before we entered the atmosphere.” She faltered. “I had to get out before it crashed, and my transport could only take one reliably. I had to leave the guy there. He was called Frame.”

The part human Doctor was thinking about the instructions Rose had just given to her younger self, how hard that must have been. He had known, from reading her letter, that Rose was involved in sending Sarah Jane to the hospital. She had gotten Donna out of London. He knew that she had been involved in getting the Torchwood team to the Sontaran ship and taking care of the clone feed. Knew the feelings she was and would be going through. He spoke up, trying to make Rose feel better. He put his hands on her shoulders and said, “That was brilliant, Rose, if those drives hadn't been ejected, they would have taken out the entire planet. You saved billions. Remember that.”

The Doctor in Brown just stood there, anguish radiating from him.

Rose finally found her voice again. “After that, there was the fat baby invasion. London was gone, so it all 'appened in America. Over the whole of America. Sixty million people died that day.”

“Wait, the Adipose breeding happened there?” the two hearted Doctor asked.

Rose nodded.

The Doctor wearing the blue suit caught on a second after his counterpart had. “But the breeding only happened because Adipose 3 was taken by the Daleks. The Daleks only-” He stopped, thinking about this.

“What?” Rose asked.

“The Cult of Skaro had escaped Canary Wharf, from there, they went to 1929 New York and were doing experiments on people. A whole new race of Dalek-human hybrids was created, and it-ended badly,” he explained.

The Doctor in brown then added, “At the end of it, there was only one Dalek left standing, Dalek Caan, and he used an emergency temporal shift to get out of there.”

Rose caught on. “Right into the War,” she whispered, grabbing the brown suited Doctor around the waist and giving him a squeeze. She then pulled back, looking back and forth between the both of them.

“Something must have happened with their experiments in that time line for them to have wound up pulling the same stunt with the planets there. I knew that what was happening here would happen there too, but they would succeed if things were allowed to continue as they were.”

There was silence for a few moments, as all three of them remembered the events just two days prior. The silence was broken by the part Time Lord prodding, “What happened next?” He was sure he knew which event was next.

“There was poisoned gas coming out of cars all over the world. As far as I can tell, though, events with that mostly ended the same. Just with Jack and his team instead. After the incident with the 'Space Titanic,' Britain was put under marshal law. The refugees from that day were put into empty houses, and several families would be placed in one house. After a while, a law was passed, and anyone who wasn't a British national was to be placed in labor camps.”

She shuddered at the thought, both Doctors paled, and the part human Doctor whispered, “No, they couldn't. No....”

Rose finished with, “Two days after the law was passed, the stars started going out. And that's when Donna came with me. I ki-killed 'er, I sent 'er to what I knew would be 'er death to right the time lines.”

After another moment of silence, the Doctor in blue came forward and cradled Rose's face in his hands. He put his forehead to hers and sent her calm. “Rose,” he implored her. “Listen to me, you saved so many people, you put the universe to rights. I-we know it doesn't make it any easier to bear the things that you had to do to make it right, but you did the right thing.”

He then gave her a gentle kiss and wrapped his arms around her, her head to his chest. He looked over to his counterpart, who stood there, staring at the sight in front of him with a stony look on his face, swallowing hard. _“Get over here, you idiot,”_ he thought to his other self. All he got in return was a look of despair. _“Get over here and let her know you don't hate her,”_ he practically shouted to his other self.

“ _Why are you doing this?”_ his other half asked desperately. _“Why? Just take what I'm offering you, give her the amazing life she deserves. If she wants to roam the stars, I could help you grow a TARDIS. Donna figured out a way to make it grow in 36 months. Just-I can't watch you.”_

“ _Don't play stupid with me, Sunshine. Surely you've noticed, hell, we've both dropped enough hints. But seeing as how your brain seems to be in a coma, I'll tell you in words even YOU can understand. She loves both of us, Dumbo. She won't be happy if she knows one of us is alone. And If you know what's good for you, you'll take everything she offers, cause-”_ he stopped his thoughts right there, determined to keep his promise to Rose.

“ _Cause what?”_ The brown suited Doctor asked, eyebrows raised.

“ _Let's just say that I've seen the error of our ways,”_ he told his two hearted self. He then broke off the telepathic connection with his other self before Rose could notice that the two were conversing.

He pulled back from Rose and told her, “I'm going to go get something real quick, and then the three of us are going to go anywhere, any when. Your choice.” He gave her a smile, then walked to the corridor. Just before he got to the opening, he turned around and pointed at the brown suited man standing there, then pointed at Rose. He turned and stepped out.

XxXxXxXx

Rose's thoughts were swirling, but not as bad as they should have been. She knew that the Doctor who had just left had helped calm her when he was holding her, and she was grateful for it, as she had been about to lose it. Rose was left alone with the original Doctor again. This Doctor had been distant since she had come back home, with the occasional moment where he seemed like himself. Then there was the kiss in the alley. She remembered that kiss well. The encounter in the alley was what kept her going through her time in Donna's World.

Kiss aside, from the way he acted, she was wondering if he even wanted her here. He usually didn't look back. She knew he only offered to take Sarah Jane back aboard the TARDIS because Rose asked it of him.

And there were two of him now. She knew what she wanted. The Doctor with only one heart seemed to be fine with it, but could she really do it? Could she actually carry on a relationship with both Doctors? And how did one go about having two lovers anyway? Of course, this was a moot point if the man she was currently alone with didn't even want her anyway.

“Rose,” the Doctor said from behind her, breaking her thoughts. “He's right. You did brilliantly. I just wish you had never had to deal with that.”

“It happened though,” Rose almost whispered. “It happened, even though it didn't. It happened, because you gave up.”

“I'm sorry, I know you don't like me saying that to you, but it's true. You shouldn't have ever been in the situation. Hell, you should have a normal life with normal thoughts.”

“Yeah, right. Me? Normal? Like that's ever gonna happen!” Rose scoffed.

“I'm serious,” he replied. “Y-you should go home. You should have that normal life while you still can.” He was descending into his self hatred again, and she wouldn't let him.

“My home is right here, Doctor, in the TARDIS with you,” she told him softly.

“For as long as you want it to be,” the Doctor confirmed.

“For _forever_ ,” Rose corrected. “'M not going anywhere.”

“Oh, Rose,” he despaired. “You mean it now, but what about in ten years, fifteen? When you wish you had settled down in a proper house with doors and carpets and mortgages and kids. And growing old together. I can give you all of time and space, but that's the one thing that I can't give you.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, steeling himself, and let Rose know that, “ _He_ can.”

“Doctor, I know about him having a more human sized lifespan now, but it doesn't change anything. I'm still not leaving you behind.”

The Doctor was about to reply to that when his blue suited counterpart came back into the console room, carrying Rose's blue leather jacket. “I've got a surprise for you,” he sang out.

Rose turned away from the man she had been talking to and smiled. “What's that then?” She then noticed the jacket in his hands and joked, “You know, I already have one like that.”

“The cheek on you! I'll have you know that the surprise is inside.” He handed her the jacket. “Put it on and check inside the pockets.”

He was practically bouncing with his excitement, which put a real smile on her face. Rose complied and put on the leather jacket she had worn while jumping the universes. She then reached into the pocket on the right side and.... _woah._ She then checked the other side.

“You've made them bigger on the inside!” she squealed and hugged him. She heard him chuckle softly and hug her back tightly.

When they pulled from one another, he asked her, “Did you figure out where and when you wanted to go?”

“Yeah, I did actually.” She looked back and forth between the Doctors. “Our talks just now had me needing to see an old friend. Can we visit Jack, not long after we last saw him?”


	13. Torchwood Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose talks to Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Drinking, swearing

It had been a quiet day in the Torchwood hub, something that Jack Harkness was thankful for. After the mess with the planets moving a couple of weeks ago. It was the first quiet day since then, mostly because using the rift to tow the planet home let a few...interesting things in.

“There's a large, blue box appearing in the Plass,” Ianto Jones informed Jack, who then rushed as fast as he could out the big, gear shaped door to go through the secret entrance at the back of the tourist office. He'd have simply gone through the lift with the perception filter on it, but the Doctor had a habit of parking the TARDIS right on it, so he knew that way was likely blocked.

When he got outside, he saw the blue box and headed toward it. He wondered what he'd find when he got there. Jack hoped that it was the version of the Doctor in the suit with the great hair. He wondered what happened after Sarah Jane, Martha, Mickey, and himself were dropped off. Rose's mother, Jackie needed to go back to the other universe, she had a new family there. She had proudly shown off pictures of her son and husband while they towed the Earth.

He wasn't running to see the Doctor this time, though. No, this time, he was running to see his little sister in flirt, and she had better be there.

The door to the TARDIS opened, and out stepped the Doctor, wearing that tight, blue suit. He saw Jack and said, “Hey Jackie-boy! I've got someone who wants to see ya.”

Suddenly, his little partner in crime came out of the open door of the TARDIS. When she saw him, she gave him a tongue- filled grin and exclaimed, “Oh, Jack, I have missed you terribly!” She came over to him, almost at a run, with her arms open. When she got to him, she practically jumped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around. Now this was a greeting. They hadn't had a chance for a proper greeting the first time they had seen each other, what with the universe ending and the Doctor regenerating and him dying and all. He put Rose down and pulled back when he heard the Doctor chuckle from near the timeship.

“So, Rosie, long time no see. How long's it been?” he asked her.

“Two days since the crucible,” she replied. “You?”

“A couple weeks.”

A third figure came out of the TARDIS: the other Doctor. This one was wearing the brown suit and had the trenchcoat on. He wondered how this was working out. He himself was still giddy at the thought. That was a lot of sexy Time Lord.

The Doctor pulled the door of the big, blue box shut behind him, noticed Jack was there, and said, “Hey Jack.” He seemed moody, well moodier than he usually was anyway.

Jack noticed one other member missing in the group. “Where's Donna?” he asked. Rose and the blue-suited Doctor's faces dropped. The one in the brown suit flinched. Oh dear god, what happened to the fiery red head.

He was spared asking by Rose herself, who told him, “Donna's fine, she's at home, but she doesn't remember any of us. Her mind couldn't...”

“Oh, sorry to hear about that.”

“Yeah.”

None of them knew what to say on the matter, nor did they particularly want to talk about it, so Rose changed the subject. “So, Jack, you got some free time?”

“Actually, it seems I do. Things are quiet today.” He shifted uncomforatbly. “Look, Rose, there's something I need to tell you. I, um, I run Torchwood now, and-” He was cut off by Rose.

“I know, Jack, I know all about it. There was a parallel world that split from this one only a couple of years ago, and I ran into you there. Learned about you taking over Torchwood Three and running the place.” She said reassuringly. “Besides, I worked for Torchwood in the universe I was trapped in, even ran this same branch for a couple of months when they needed someone to fill in, just until they could find someone who actually wanted to run the branch.”

“Well, I'll give you the grand tour of this one. Woah, wait. Little Rosie worked for a big, shadowy cooperation?” he asked, stunned.

“Well, it wasn't quite as shadowy anymore when I came in, had actually become known.” She then turned to the Doctors and called out, “You coming? We'll give you the grand tour.”

“Lead the way,” the brown suited Doctor replied unenthusiastically.

They all walked into the Hub. The Doctors were both interested in the hidden door at the back of the tourist shop, as well as the big gear door at the entrance to the hub proper. When they went through the door, the lights and sirens were going off, and the blue suited Doctor said something about, “setting off the alarms,” but most of what he said was lost in the noise from said alarms.

When the noise died, Rose laughed and explained, “Every time someone goes through that door, no matter who, the alarms go off. You can't help but notice that someone has come in.”

To the uninitiated eye, the main room of the Torchwood hub looked a mess. Cluttered, a jumbled mess of futuristic, current, and even a bit of past technology, wires everywhere. The place looked like it was put into a disused subway station.

Ianto and Gwen were busy working, focused on their tasks and didn't acknowledge that anyone had come in.

The Doctors, ever friendly with everyone, greeted in unison, “Hello!”

The one wearing the blue suit then added, “I'm the Doctor, Blondie over here is Rose, and my grumpy brother over there is Moe.”

Rose looked over at him and mouthed, “Blondie?”

At the same time, the other Doctor gave him a dirty look and asked, “Moe, really?”

The Doctor who had introduced them looked unapologetic, He even grinned.

“They know who you really are,” Jack told them, shaking his head and fighting a grin.

“You've been wantin' to do that for a while,” Rose accused. “Havn' ya?”

The Doctor wearing brown pinstripes noticed that the other people in the room still hadn't acknowledged them. He shot a worried, and somewhat accusing look at Jack, who just shrugged.

Rose recognized the game, having had it played on her before by the same people in a bubble universe. She called out, “Hey, Ianto, I see you peekin'.”

Gwen then dissolved into giggles. “Pizza's on you.” She then turned towards the three newcomers and said, “It's nice to meet you in person, Doctor-um Doctors.”

The Doctor in Blue, who hadn't seen the screen when Rose and his other self had seen them before, noticed who Gwen looked like. “You look very familiar Gwen, or was it Gweneth?”

“It's Gwen,” she replied.

“So that's what you meant by spacial-genetic multiplicity!, he said to his other self enthusiastically, who nodded.

“Where's Myfanwy?” Rose asked.

“Around here somewhere,” Jack replied.

Rose turned to the Doctors and told them that, “They have a pet pterodactyl 'ere, just so you know. Won' eat anything that isn't covered with barbeque sauce. Or chocolate.”

Ianto came up, looking at Rose with suspicion. “And just how do you know that?” he asked.

“Ianto,” Jack warned.

“We know nothing about her except her first name, yet she knows a lot about us. I think it's fair to find out how that is.”

“'Yan,” Jack started.

“'S a good point, Jack,” Rose interrupted. “I want your team to be comfortable with me.” She turned to Ianto and introduced herself, “I'm Rose Tyler, and are you familiar with parallel universe theory?” After a nod from Ianto, she started her explanation. “I'm going to keep this very short. 'Snot a theory. It's fact. I'm from this universe originally, but I was thrown into another universe and spent a long time trying to figure out how to get back home. I ran this same base in that world for a while. When I crossed parallels trying to get back home, I came across one parallel that had only split off from this world one two-ish years ago. There wasn't much different there from here. And that's how I know about the pteranodon and the game you played when we first walked in.”

When she finished her quick explanation, Ianto looked over at Jack, who gave him a quick nod in confirmation. Ianto then held out his hand and said, “Then it's nice to meet you, Rose.” He then turned to Jack and informed him that he needed to get back to watching the rift.

“Well, he took that well.” The Doctor in blue remarked to Jack.

“That's 'Yan,” Jack commented simply.

The other Doctor was wandering around the hub, looking over various bits and bobs of equipment. His exclamations were occasionally heard. When he got to the circular depression that was the medbay, they heard, “Oh, look! You've got a Bekaran deep-tissue scanner!”

Gwen followed him around with a tablet, making notes on everything he said. Jack knew why, he had talked about the Doctor enough that she knew that the man in front of her would know the true functions of many of the things that they had.

The Doctor who still stood there was looking around interestedly. Jack knew that he had stayed there just in case Ianto turned out to be a threat. “Why did he challenge Rose and not us?” he wondered.

“Probably because I’ve told them a bit about you, and that you're to be trusted.”

“No questions about there being two of us?” he asked.

“No, I warned them that when they met you, that there may be two of you. Said that it was a 'Time Lord thing' and not to talk about it. That stopped all questions.”

“Might want to keep that piece of information to yourself, Jack,” Rose warned. “I trust those two, but I have the strangest feeling that we need to keep it from being well known.”

The Doctor shot Rose an odd, calculating look, but didn't say anything.

Jack nodded his head in confirmation. “Will do.” He then turned to the blue suited Doctor and told him, “Go on, I know you're itching to.”

The Doctor then shot off in a different direction than his counterpart. Jack was finally alone with Rose.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, when Rose observed, “You have questions. Where do you want to start?”

“That's what I was trying to figure out, Let's start with parallel worlds. Doc said you were in one, with Mickey and your mother, and that you were happy.”

“Of course he would. Yes, I was trapped in one. Yes, Mickey was there. Yes, Mum was there. Mickey was happy. He'd made the choice to go, to be with his grandma. He found his place there. Mum was happy 'cause she had her husband back. Yeah, it was a 20 year older version who wasn't quite the same, but they had each other. She had another child. A boy. His name is Tony.” She paused, taking a deep breath, then continued, “But me? I was miserable.”

“Why?” He knew why, but he wanted to hear more about her time over there.

“I had no one, was separated from the one person I loved. I was watching everyone around me being happy, and none of them seemed to understand why I was so miserable, or why I worked so hard to be happy again. Both Mickey and Mum moved to another universe to be with someone that was dead in this one, but were being hypocritical when I wanted to move back to the universe we were from to be with someone who never even existed in that one in the first place. Mickey acted like I thought I was better than everyone else, and Mum just thought I wanted the adventure and didn't seem to be able to understand why I couldn't run the Earth there. Is it so selfish to want my own hand to hold when everyone around me had it?”

She watched the people walking around the Hub, eyes moist. It was like she had been holding that rant in for years, and was finally letting it go. He hugged her. “Sweetheart, that's all anyone is ever looking for.” He pulled back and decided to change the subject. “Okay, next question. Torchwood used to have files on you, but they were all corrupted by something called the 'Bad Wolf' virus. Care to explain that?”

Rose barked out a quick laugh. “That still follows me, even through parallels. Did the Doctor tell you about what I did?” After a nod from Jack, she told him, “Guess I wrote code too. Next question?”

“The original Torchwood charter mentions a Sir Doctor of TARDIS and Dame Rose Tyler of the Powell Estate. In the original report, it's mentioned that the Dame was 'naked'. Now, just how naked are we talking about?” when he got to the word 'naked', Rose had begun to laugh. By the time he was finished asking his question, they were both laughing.

“I was dressed for an Ian Drury and the Blockheads concert in 1979! We wound up in Scotland with the Queen in 1879! And you know what he said? 'Same difference!' Like there was nothing different about 1979 and 1879!”

Their laughter could be heard by everyone. Jack could see his team shaking their heads and glancing up at them. The Doctor wearing the blue suit was watching them, smiling. The other one was the furthest person from them, and he was just watching them with a very sad look on his face. That was something else he was going to have to ask about, right after...

“Okay Rosie, step into my office, where we can talk in private.” They went around to his office.

Once in the office, Jack went over to his liquor stash and got out the vodka and a couple of shot glasses. “No hypervodka on this planet in this time,” he told Rose.

“Vodka, Jack? It's still morning,” she questioned, eyebrow raised.

“And you can use it.”

“I'll bring ya some hypervodka as soon as I see some,” she promised.

“I knew I loved ya for some reason.”

"So it's not my winning personality?" Rose asked, fake pouting.

Jack smiled and winked. “Two Doctors? How's that working out for you?” He laced his voice with several layers of innuendo.

She sighed. “It's been weird, Jack. The one in brown has been avoiding me and is being a bit on the cold side. Like he's trying to push me away. The one in blue has been....” her voice trailed off and she turned a lovely shade of red.

“So what's shagging a Time Lord like?” Jack grinned, causing Rose to blush deeper.

“I haven't, we never, it wasn't-” She sputtered.

Jack laughed. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“Jack!”

“Not even when he was still one man?” She shook her head. “You've got to be kidding me! The way the two of you were when he was all leather and ears and lovely, and now that he's a pretty boy? How?”

“Time Lord, Jack. I guess it's different. The one in the blue suit is part human, and it seems to have really affected how he approaches that subject. The original apparently doesn't-”

“The same Time Lord who was going to take you to see the people who brought us _Sex and Drugs and Rock 'N Roll_ and _Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick_ , huh?” Jack interrupted, “No, there's something else at play here.”

“The Doctor was going to leave his other self and me in the parallel world," Rose admitted.

“And he was going to sail off on his own, and deal with what happened to Donna on his own. Damn.” Jack suddenly understood. “There's no way that would have ended well.”

“Yeah, only I foiled his plans.” Rose then chucked back her shot and put her glass back down on the table.

Jack then refilled it and asked, “How?”

“About four months ago, my timeline, I made it to this universe for the first time. It was the night that the little fat babies came out.”

“Oh, I remember that, you were there then?”

“Yeah. Only thing is, I ran into my older self and the Doctor. And I was kept from getting to the Doctor too early in the timeline. I gave myself a letter giving with instructions of things to do over the next four months. Among those was instructions on how to get the void to close faster. So when the Doctor decided to take us back to the other world, the void was closed too far to be able to get the TARDIS over there.” She stopped for a moment. “The personal pronouns are weird when it comes to time travel, aren't they?”

Jack nodded and asked, “What about your mom? Her husband and son? She was showing off pictures and-”

“The instructions also told me how to get Pete and Tony over here before the void closed. They've been set up in a nice place in Rome in 2012. They aren't extremely rich anymore, but Dad was gonna need to retire soon anyway.”

Jack was happy to hear that. “So, you've got to close that paradox as soon as possible, right?”

“Oh, we've already done that, just this morning, relatively speaking. Found the paper I used to write the letter to myself in this marketplace on Trilaxia Three in the 68th century yesterday.”

“What happened there?”

“How'd you know something happened there?” Rose asked.

Jack just gave her a look that said, 'really, you have to ask that?'

“Oh, right.” She laughed. “Got captured by some kidnappers who were gonna ransom me and the Doctor with one heart, or if they couldn't get a ransom, they were gonna sell us as slaves.”

“One heart?”

“Oh, yeah, the part human Doctor only has one heart, he can't regenerate, and he's got a lifespan closer to a human's.”

“So that's why!” Jack said. He understood far too well.

“Yeah.” Rose downed the second shot of vodka and looked around to make sure that no one else was listening. She then leaned in towards Jack and whispered, “What he doesn't know is that I'm one hundred percent sure I don't exactly have a normal human lifespan myself.”

“What? You too?” Jack then sat upright, looking Rose right in the eye.

“What do you mean, 'you too'?” Rose asked, eyes narrowed.

She didn't know. She didn't know what she had done when she brought him back. Maybe she didn't even know that he had died in the first place. How did he tell her without making her feel bad? “Um, I don't know how to tell you this, but when you did your 'Bad Wolf' thing, I had died, and you brought me back to life. I have a neat new ability. I die and come back to life. I also can sometimes give energy, and I heal really fast. The Doctor says I'm what he called a, 'fixed point'. That's part of why I didn't travel with you after he regenerated, because of the fixed point status.”

Rose was wide eyed. “So that's how you survived the Dalek's gun on the Crucible? Jack, how old are you?” she demanded.

“I'm over two thousand years old, but I spent much of that time in unconscious states to avoid paradoxes.” He didn't tell her that one unconscious state was actually because he was buried under the Earth for two millennia and couldn't come back until he was able to not die immediately. She didn't need to know that.

“I'm sorry Jack, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. You didn't ask for-”

“Hey, hey, none of that now,” Jack interrupted. “Never feel sorry for me. You loved me enough to bring me back from the dead. Never, ever apologize for this. Thank you for saving my life, hundreds of times over. Thank you for making it so I could save millions of other lives.”

Rose had a tear finally fall. Jack wiped it away with his thumb, and pressed a quick, soft kiss to her lips. “Your welcome,” she whispered.

Just then, the part human Doctor popped in and asked, “Everything okay in here?”

Jack grimaced internally. He knew that the man could see that he had just kissed this woman that they both loved. He used to be jealous and a bit possessive when he was traveling with them, but this was a new man, what he'd do was an unknown. He decided to act like nothing had happened.

“Yeah,” Rose told him, sniffing. “I just found out about Jack's new ability. Something that you forgot to tell me about.” She got up and folded her arms across her chest, staring him down.

“Um, yeah, about that.” The Doctor was nervous now, shifting, tugging on his wonky ear. “You see, when-”

“I thought he was dead!” Rose cried out.

“I never said he was-”

“What exactly did you think I'd think when you said he was, 'rebuilding the Earth,' but had never said goodbye to me?” she accused. “He said goodbye when he knew me for barely a couple of hours!”

“Rose, it's okay, we've sorted this out between ourselves,” Jack tried to intervene.

The Doctor held his hand up and begged, “let me explain, please.” Rose nodded and sat down on the end of the couch that she and Jack had just been sharing, and gestured to the Doctor to sit down.

“Okay. When you did that, you made him a fixed point in time. My people, from a very young age, are trained to stay away from fixed points. It's ingrained in us. At the time, I was worried about you and I was regenerating. The fixed point was just one too many things to deal with at the time. You'd have to be truly mad to mess with a fixed point in time.” He looked down at his feet in embarrassment. “Then I didn't tell you because you took the regeneration hard, and I was worried-”

“Only because I didn't know,” Rose defended herself.

Sometime while he spoke, the fully Time Lord Doctor had come in, and no one had noticed. “You didn't want me to change back there just before the crucible, and you knew-”

She turned, facing him “The paradox that we just closed this morning! I had seen you, looking like this.” She gestured up and down his body. “After everything and I was worried about the time lines. Plus, you were hurt that bad to start regenerating. Plus, I was worried about you getting sick again in the middle of a Dalek....thing that was going to destroy everything! So of course I freaked out!”

The Doctors both looked sheepish.

“Now, why didn't you tell me later?” Rose interrogated the Doctors.

“Later, I didn't tell you because I was worried how you'd take it, and...partly because...I ran away,” the blue suited Doctor answered.

Rose looked back and forth between the two Doctors and told them, “Now listen to me. Jack is family. We don't leave family behind. Understand?” Both Doctors nodded.

There was tense silence for a moment, which Jack decided to break by asking, “So how long do you plan on staying in Cardiff?”

“Oi, Jack, eager to get rid of me so quickly?” Rose said.

“No, sweetheart, I'm eager to get rid of them and take you out somewhere fun where you can wear shoes that aren't made for running.”

“Oi!” both Doctors protested.

Jack grinned at them and Rose laughed. She then turned to the two and asked, “So, how long we got?”

“It will be two hours before she's fully charged and ready to go. We'll leave whenever you are ready,” the two hearted Doctor replied. He then walked out of the room.

Jack gave Rose a look that said, 'yeah, I see what you mean.'

The part Time Lord Doctor then told Rose, “I'm sorry about not telling you about what happened. You go have fun. We're gonna go back to the TARDIS.” He then got up, leaned over Rose, and gave her a soft, lingering kiss. He then straightened up, looked right at Jack, who's jaw had dropped, and told them, “Don't get into too much trouble.” Then he walked out, following his counterpart.

“Rosie, I think you forgot to tell me something.” He got his coat and started putting it on, Rose got up to help him.

“Nope, was about to get to that when I learned about you,” she replied, grinning. “He knows about me, you know. He found out right before I found out about about him. Kinda odd, when you think about it, here we are. Roles flipped. He's got the short lifespan, and I've got the centuries after he's....”

“And the one with the all the centuries on hand knows nothing about it?” Jack asked after Rose had trailed off.

“No, and I don't want him to know yet, either.” She was adamant.

“Because he's being an idiot?” Jack asked.

“No, because then he'd stop being an idiot,” she explained.

“Ooohhh.” Jack suddenly understood. “What about the part human one? Because that was definitely marking his territory back there.”

“At first, he was going along with the other one, trying to be perfect and get me to choose him, but that changed before he had even known about the lifespan thing. He seems to now on board with what I want.”

“And what is it you want, Rosie?”

Rose turned red and bit her bottom lip.

“Way to go, Rosie! You bad, bad girl. Didn't know ya had it in you!”

“Shut up,” she joked, trying to fight a grin. “There's just one little bitty problem. Well, two.”

“And what are those?"

“I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. If it could even work. How to go about loving two different people, especially since the two different people were once the same person. Problem two is obvious. You've seen it already.” They walked through the door to the office and out into the main room.

“First of all, he loves you. He did even when he was back in leather. He's just trying to make sure you're happy, while trying to hurt as little as possible," Jack assured her. "Now, for the other problem, which I don't even consider to be a problem. Polyamory isn't as hard as it seems, but I can give you some basic advice. First though, let's get you some real fun. Rosie, ready for a night on the town?”

“You do know that it's only almost noon, right?” she questioned amusedly.

“Which is why we're starting with lunch.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and called out, “Yan!, Gwen! We're headed out. You need anything, gimme a ring.”

They heard both people acknowledging him. Gwen then called out, “Mickey called. Says he's considered it, and he'll work with us for a while, at least.”

“Good, get that paperwork he'll need sorted, will ya? I'm out.”

“Mickey?” Rose asked. “He's comin' to work with ya?”

“Yeah, for a little while at least, till he gets settled here,” he told her.

“Good for him.”

XxXxXxXx

Rose was having a lot of fun. This reminded her of when the two of them used to go out back when the Doctor was all leather and ears, except less aliens. She'd say no aliens, but she actually knew that wasn't true. The alien she met twenty minutes ago was waving from the bar right now. Everyone in town thought those ridges were implants.

The day started with lunch at the little pizza joint near the Hub. Then they went shopping. Rose had said that she could just go to the TARDIS for whatever she needed, but Jack would hear none of it, saying that he had more than he could ever spend. She could be red carpet glammed and not even put a dent in his accounts. Apparently, the man ran Torchwood on money from just a couple of his accounts. Perks of knowing the future.

Jack was different. She knew she was too, but Jack had had a great many more years to change. He was still Jack, though. Still the incredibly flirty man who had become a brother to her. Well, she said brother, but really, there was far too much flirting in that relationship for that, plus the fact that she'd actually do him if it weren't for the fact that she was in love with the Doctor, no matter what form he took.

Throughout the day, Jack would give her random bits of advice about how to handle her situation.

“Communication is key to any relationship,” he instructed while they were at lunch.

“No rules. I know it seems counterproductive, but let things evolve where they will. Boundaries, yes, but no rules,” he told her when she was giving him a fashion show in one of the shops. He then proceeded to explain the difference between boundaries and rules.

“Things don't have to be even,” he explained to her after they had found the perfect shoes. “I know you're gonna want to make things, 'fair,' but in reality, as long as everyone is getting what they need, that's the goal.”

“You don't necessarily have to wait on one to be with the other,” he told her after they met the alien with the ridges at the club. “You know the Doctor even better than I do, though, so if you feel that would be the best way to go, then follow your instincts.”

She made her way to the bar where her best friend and the alien were standing. “Care for a dance, Rosie?” The alien, who wanted to be called Robert, asked.

“Sure, why not?” And that was how she wound up dancing with both Robert and Jack.

XxXxXxXx

Twenty-five minutes later, they headed back to the TARDIS. Rose was a bit tipsy, but Jack could hold his liquor.

“You should come with us, Jack. It'll be like old times. We could be gone for a trip or two, and your team never know.”

“With the Doctor's driving, I'd wind up gone for a year!” Both laughed over that.

“Aww, that was the TARDIS's fault. She takes us where we need to go. I needed to know that the people around me cared, and those back at the estate needed the wake up call that I wasn't going to be there for them always.”

“Really? That's why you were gone for that year?”

“Yep,” she said, popping the 'p', “Back then, I felt I was needed, so much, that I actually turned down going off with the Doctor.”

“No! Really?”

“Yes. Course, I felt like the universe's biggest idiot a second after the TARDIS disappeared. Which is good, because he came back and asked me again about 30 seconds later.”

“Glad you went with him, Rosie, he needed someone.”

“I'm glad I went too, for so many reasons. Oh, this looks like my stop.”

“Have fun, Rosie. Remember what I told you, and let it all happen. If you wind up with a bed full of sexy Time Lord, I want details. Detailed details,” he clarified, causing Rose to laugh. The door opened, and he was face to face with one of the Time Lords in question. "Good night, Rose, gimme a call later.”

“Night Jack,” she said, hugged him, and slipped inside the TARDIS. Jack turned to go back to the Hub, smiling. It'd work out, if the kiss he witnessed was anything to go by. Right now, he needed Ianto.


	14. Goddess Bearing Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctors have a talk, and Rose gives gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: swearing

The part human Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door. He turned around from the door to look at his counterpart, who was already starting to climb under the console to partake of some meditative maintenance. He liked that- 'meditative maintenance.'

“I know what you're doing, you know,” he said to his moodier half, having resolved to try once more today to break the full Gallifreyan out of his funk enough to listen to the hints he was dropping.

“I'm sure you do,” he replied angrily, getting back up. “Can't say the same about you, though. Just what the hell do you think you are getting at? Until we got to Trilaxia, you were going along with the program, but while we were there, everything seemed to change. What happened?”

“We've been through this. I saw just how much she was worried about you _and_ me both,” he informed him, telling only part of the truth, but they knew each other better than that.

“And?” his other self asked, irritated. “There's something else.”

He closed his eyes and tried to figure out how much he could tell his last self, without breaking his promise to Rose. He finally settled on the truth. Part of it, anyway. “There's...things I know, that I've realized since I became...this.” He gestured to himself. “And, you...need to figure them out for yourself. I'm trying to help you, here. Well, it'll help me out too,” he added at the end with a cheeky grin.

The other Doctor was standing there in front of him, arms crossed and a mix of confusion and anger written all over his face. “What sort of things?” he questioned in a low voice.

He gave his other self a sad, knowing look and told him, “I can't. I made promises.”

“Promises?” his counterpart croaked. “What sort of promises? What are the two of you-? Why?” He looked ready to crack. 

He stopped the man in the brown pinstriped suit with a hand up. “If I could tell you, I would. Just trust me with this.”

“Trust-” the two hearted man started, voice squeaking a little bit, then changed his mind with a shake of his head. “Okay, then, just tell me one thing, is there something wrong?”

“Oh geeze. Not that I know of. No matter how many promises I made, I wouldn't keep something like that from you.” Like he'd let Rose be hurt. “Listen, at least stop being weird and cold to her. For right now, that'll be enough.” He chose his next words with great care. “I know what you're thinking. Two days ago I was you, so I should know. But if you let go, and just let things be what they could be...you won't regret it, not like we did before,” he reminded his other self. “We thought we'd be better off in the long run if we didn't get any deeper, but the truth is, there is no deeper.” He paused for a moment, letting those words sink in for the other man. 

The other Doctor gave him a calculating look and put his hands in his pockets. “So. You're saying that I'll benefit from sharing her and watching the two of you be able to grow old together. I don't want to share, and I don't know if I can stand by and watch the two of you have _that_ together,” he admitted, voice lowered so that he was almost whispering at the end, trying to disguise his voice breaking. 

The twin Time Lords were both silent for a moment, watching one another. The part human one was trying to figure out something to say without giving up any of Rose's secrets when the two hearted Doctor spoke up. “Of course, that's assuming she'd even go for it in the first place.”

“She will,” the Doctor wearing blue assured him.

“How could you know?”

“There's this new thing, all the kids are doing it, it's called 'talking.' You should give it a try sometime,” he lectured his other self sarcastically. He then explained, “Last night, relatively speaking, we had a discussion that included the subject.”

“And you're fine with sharing?” the Doctor asked incredulously.

He leaned against one of the coral struts and looked at his brown suited counterpart. “Not with sharing in general. Would rather have her all to myself, thank you. That hasn't changed.” He sighed. “But when the other person in question is, well, myself...well, I find it nice that she loves me enough to want to deal with me twice over.” He then gave a little laugh. “Can't understand why, but for some reason, she does. We don't deserve to be in her presence, much less more.”

“I know.”

“The Goddess smiles upon us.”

“Goddess?” His other self was amused. “Are we having a poetic moment?”

“Oi! Don't pretend like you think otherwise. Need I remind you of a certain statue? Or how we came to look like this in the first place? I'm just willing to admit it, that's all.” He then pointed his finger at his other self accusingly. “And you! You Dunce! If you had any idea. Any at all! If you had- Fuck!” He sat down, hands buried in his hair, aware that the other man was observing him, mind working furiously. He then felt the other Doctor sit down next to him. 

“How can I, when no one will tell me?” The Time Lord said.

“I tried to get her to tell you, but then she told me her reason why, and I understand, I really do.” He looked the two hearted man in the eyes and dropped him a hint. “There's something you need to do, or say, before she'll tell you. Unless you find out on your own like I did.” 

The other Doctor spoke, “It's big, isn't it?”

“Bit of an understatement. It's potentially huge, but I don't know much yet. I get the feeling she's not sure about it.” They sat in silence for a few moments, both lost in their thoughts. 

Suddenly, he heard the man next to him inform him, “I hate you.”

He laughed. “Feelin's mutual, I assure you.”

"What if I refused to share?" his counterpart asked, eyes dark.

"I'm not giving her up," he replied, just as coldly.

"I could kick you out somewhere, tell her you left. I should. It's no more than you deserve."

"You would, wouldn't you? Just like Jack. Bastard. You need to learn from your mistakes," he hissed at his two hearted double.

"Why are you pushing this so hard?" the other man shouted.

"Because I remember what it was like when she was gone. Because she needs you. Not like you're acting right now, though."

"She doesn't need me and I don't need anyone," he denied.

"Yes, she does and don't even try to bullshit me," he called the other man out on his claim.

The other man shut his eyes, and clenched his fists, then let out a deep breath and opened his hands to rub his palms against his trousers. “I'll try,” he finally said.

“That's all she needs.”

They had a truce. The two men worked for the next few hours, checking connections, replacing a button that shorted out. They didn't use that one often, but when they did, they needed it. 

The whole time, they discussed random things. Where to take Rose next, places they had wanted to go, whether or not the Disney World on Clom would actually be any good, and if they dared take Rose there with Absorbaloffs running around. There was speculation on the Sontaran-Rutan war and what it would take to end it. The human Doctor grumbled about his new physiology, and the Time Lord would tease him about it. 

The part human Doctor was sitting on the jump seat when the monitor showed two familiar figures walking through the Plass. “She's coming,” he told his counterpart, who came over to the monitor. 

They noticed that the two weren’t walking in a straight line. Then they noticed something else. “She's wearing a different outfit,” the full Gallifreyan stated, jealousy showing in his eyes. Rose was wearing a teal outfit that would fit right in in Ancient Greece if it were floor length, but it came up over her knees. Her blue leather jacket was draped over her shoulders. 

When Rose and Jack got close to the TARDIS, he nudged the other Doctor towards the door. The man in brown then opened it. On the other side, Jack and Rose stood there. The immortal man and the full time lord eyed each other up before Jack called out, “Good night, Rose. Gimme a call later.”

Rose bade her old friend goodnight, hugged him and stepped inside the TARDIS. The Doctor who had answered the door asked Rose, “Did you have a good time?” 

“Yep!” Rose giggled. Yeah, she was a bit tipsy, but not nearly as much as they thought she would be. 

“I notice that you have different clothes on.” He was obviously trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice, but failed horribly. Failed bad enough that even tipsy Rose noticed. 

“Why, Doctor, are you _jealous_?” she asked flirtatiously, causing the two hearted man to falter. And the single hearted man to chuckle.

“No,” he denied.

“Yes,” the part human teased.

Rose finally relented. “Where we went wasn't appropriate for jeans, so Jack took me shoppin', said 'e wanted to dress me up lika Barbie doll. Told 'im if he wanted to dress me up like that slag, we'd be havn' words.” She smiled at the memory and continued, “Didja know that he's gone monogamous? Well, mostly monogamous. 'Im and Ianto.” 

“What? Really? Jack?” the part human Doctor asked. “Wonders never cease.”

“The things we do for love,” Rose mused, with a dreamy look in her eyes. “For our hand to hold.” Her eyes refocused, looking back and for the between the two of them. “I see you two haven't killed each other yet.”

“We're the same man. Why wouldn't we get along well?” The full Gallifreyan had an innocent look on his face.

“Because you're the same man.” She wasn't buying the innocent act. “Well, since you're finally getting along well enough to stay in the same space for a bit, I've got somethin' for both of ya. I'll be back in a mo.” She went down the corridor. 

Both Doctors looked at each other. “Would that be murder, or suicide, do you think?” the Time Lord asked.

The part Gallifreyan replied with, “Dunno, depends on who does the killing? I was once you, but you'll never be me. So murder for you, suicide for me?”

“Maybe over thinking it?”

“A bit, yeah. Better not let her hear us. Wonder what she has for us?” 

The Time Lord shrugged his shoulders. “No telling.”

Just then, they heard Rose on her way back, singing. “ _...I wanted freedom, bound and restricted, I tried to give you up, but I'm addicted, now that you know I'm trapped, sense of elation, you'd never dream of-_ ” A thump was heard, followed by, “Shit. Can't hold on to any damned thing.” 

“Well, whatever it is, she just dropped it,” the Doctor in blue said in Gallifreyan to his counterpart with a low, amused voice. 

Just then, Rose came back into the console room, holding a small box and two books. “Found it!” she exclaimed. “You're gonna love this,” she promised them. “When I was stuck over there, I'd come across something that I knew didn't exist in this universe. Things I knew you'd love. And what do ya get for the man who has an entire universe at his fingertips? So I'd gather these things up. It was a bit risky, time lines and all, but I figured they'd be safe in the TARDIS in the hands of a Time Lord.”

She then held up one of the books. It was a small, light green book not much bigger than his hand. “Charles Dickens lived a little longer there. Here we have the completed _Mystery of Edwin Drood_. No blue elementals involved, though.” She referenced their first trip into the past together.

“Oh, this is brilliant!” both Doctors exclaimed in stereo. 

“This book is old,” the part human added, turning the book over in his hands and opening it up. He then pulled out his glasses and put them on. “Oh, look. It's a first edition!”

Rose grinned and told the pair, “We had plenty of money. It was fairly easy to find a first edition, if a bit expensive. No point in bringing a paperback. Not for this.”

“Thank you,” the Doctor wearing blue breathed, in awe.

“This is amazing,” his counterpart added.

Rose picked up the other book, a thicker volume, paperback this time, and standard paperback size. “Next up, we have William Shakespeare. I have here a book called the _Complete Works of William Shakespeare_ , which includes the plays _Loves Labours Won_ , and _Timon of Athens_. I remember you going on about the lost play and the unfinished play and how you wanted to know what happened to them. And I noticed some minor differences between the plays I knew and the ones in this book.” She handed this book to the two hearted Doctor, who immediately opened it to the proper pages and scanned the end of _Loves Labours Won_. 

He laughed and handed the book to his other self, then hugged Rose.

The blue-suited Doctor looked at the same pages. “This is brilliant, absolutely the perfect gift! We actually found out what happened to _Loves Labours Won_ in this universe,” he told Rose.

“Oh really, what?” She was excited.

“Turns out some Carrionites were using the play to unleash themselves from a different dimension,” the other Doctor said. “Carrionites are, weellll, you'd call them witches. They use sound and words and shapes to do what they need done.”

“Is that where he got his witches from?” Rose asked. “'Cause that'd make-oh, Sycorax.” Both Doctors were grinning now. “Of course, you did.” The part human Doctor picked up a deep sadness when she used the name of the creatures she met right after he regenerated. But she seemed to shake it off quickly and went to the next gift. She took the lid off of the small box and reached inside, pulling out what looked like a mini DVD. 

“This,” she bragged, "is the complete works of one Elvis Aaron Presley, who in this universe died in 1977. In Pete's World, he cleaned up his act and lived until 1989, when he died in a traffic accident.” 

Both Doctors let out a very manly squeal, very dignified it was. That was his story and he was sticking to it. Rose laughed and said, “I thought you'd like it.”

“And last, but definitely not least,” she announced when they had calmed down.

“Woah, there's more?” the part human asked, astounded.

“Yes! And you'll absolutely love this,” she promised with a tongue touched grin. She took a small tin out of the little box and opened it. “This is a species of _Camellia sinensis_ that was bred to taste like... guess?”

“Um, peppermint?” the Doctor in blue guessed.

“Nope,” Rose popped the 'p.'

“Strawberries?” the other Doctor wondered.

“Wrong again!” She was bouncing now.

“What?” both Doctor queried together, getting excited.

“Bananas!” 

The look on his counterpart's face was priceless, and he imagined he probably had the same one. Like he was going to go over there and snog the daylights out of the woman in front of him. 

“Now, just why has no one over here thought of that? A species of Earth tea, that tastes like bananas without you having to add the flavoring!” He laughed.

“Yeah, shame I didn't have much room to bring a bunch with me,” she complained. “The collection of things was much larger, but when I learned I wouldn't have much room to take things with me, I had to pare it down to the most important. The Shakespeare book almost didn't make the cut, I really should have had it on a disk too. So there's only enough there to make about twelve cups.” 

The full Time Lord's face fell. The part human felt his face fall too. He then said, “Oh, well, we'll just have to have it for special occasions.”

“Yeah, it's a shame,” Rose affirmed. “Too bad I didn't think to bring seeds with me," she teased.

Both Doctors caught on immediately. The new one said, “No way.”

“You didn't-” the other Doctor started.

Rose proffered a small bag, full as possible to be with tea seeds. “Oh, I did. It'll be a while before the plants are mature enough to harvest a reasonable amount of tea, but-”

Both Doctors looked at each other and grinned. “Oh, I think we can figure out a way to speed the process up a bit,” the part human bragged. 

“How?”

“Time machine,” both Doctors sang out, with identical grins. 

Rose then started laughing. “Of course, I shoulda known.”

The full Time Lord said, “Well, I don't know about you two, but I think it's time to brew up some tea, maybe some biscuits?” He started towards the galley without waiting for a reply.

“Tea and biscuits it is,” Rose replied, still laughing. She turned and looked at the Doctor that still stood there. “That was better than expected, from both of you.”

He hugged her. “You didn't need to, you know,” he murmured into her ear. “I'm glad you did, that was brilliant, but you didn't have to.”

“I wanted to. You give me so much, but I have nothing to-” he silenced her by his lips pressed against hers. He kept their touch quick, not letting it devolve like he really wanted. 

When he pulled back from her, he put his forehead to hers and whispered, “Every moment with you is a gift I cherish.” He then let some of the emotion he was feeling flow into her telepathically, which was getting easier to do now that they had connected a couple of times before. He also pulled back on that quickly, took her hand, and led her off towards the galley.

XxXxXxXx

They were sitting at the corner booth table in the galley, Rose in the middle. The three were trading stories. This time, it was Rose's turn. “....and this poor guy, he's freaking out, he's from 3557, and it's 2012, and he has no idea what's going on, how he arrived there, nothing. One minute, he's in his living room, the next, an alleyway in Cardiff. That's the rift for you. Luckily, I had a working vortex manipulator and could take him back home before he could get integrated.”

“You've mentioned that before, that you had a vortex manipulator,” the Doctor wearing brown asked. “How'd you get that?”

“When I first got access to the archives, I spent all of my time down there looking for anything that could help me. I had 'oped to find a vortex manipulator, figured that'd be the easiest way to get back here, but never believed I'd actually get my hands on one.” She played with her mug. “Then, I did. The one I found had a broken xanthica crystal, but other than that, it looked like it was fine. I was glad for all the times I asked Jack questions about his.”

“You got hold of a xanthica crystal?” the other Doctor prompted.

“Yeah, two months later. After a couple of small trips, I went back to the day that I was trapped there. The original plan had been to take one of those buttons and hop back here to just before we had opened the breech, tie myself off in a closet or something, and hide until it was all over, but then, before I got it working, um, the beach happened, and I couldn't do that anymore.” The the Doctors both looked sad at the mention of what happened on Bad Wolf bay.

“So, then the plan changed. Do the same thing, but be ready to find Sarah Jane after the walls closed. I knew I’d find ya soon enough, or you me, but I 'ad to make sure you had contacted me first.” Both Doctors looked proud of her plan and how it would have maintained the timelines. 

“Just before I went to leave, Pete took me aside and told me why 'e knew where and when to jump back over here and catch me.” 

Both Doctors looked very interested in this information. “Ah, you and your paradoxes.” the part human commented.

“Yeah. Me and my paradoxes,” she muttered. “Anyway, I'm sure you've already figured this out, but that's when I learned that I couldn't get through the walls like that.” Both Doctors then reached over, grabbing the hand that was closest to them, and giving it a squeeze. Rose's ever weird mind had an absurd thought that if they had clasped their other hands together, they could have a séance. 

“That was brilliant, Rose,” the Doctor with two hearts proudly told her.

At the same time, the part Gallifreyan whispered, “Genius.” 

Eager to get off the topic at hand, Rose then looked back and forth between the two men. “All righ' now. That was two stories from me. 'Syour turn.”

The Doctors told Rose about the time they met Brigadier Lethbridge- Stewart, which was while he was chasing the Yeti in the London underground during his second life. Rose learned that he had actually met the Brigadier twice in his first life, but he was crossing his time line and had to forget about it. When they got to the end of the story, the part human Doctor yawned. “Fucking rubbish human biology,” he muttered.

Rose couldn't help but laugh. “You'll get used to it eventually,” she assured him.

“Why aren't you tired?” he complained. “You've been up longer, and you went dancing and have been drinking.”

“I don't need as much sleep as I used to,” she replied with a cheeky grin. The Doctor groaned, and his counterpart snickered. 

Then the Doctor let out another yawn. “I guess I'll go to bed then.” He took Rose's hand, kissed the back of it, and bade her goodnight. She watched him walk out the door, then she turned her attention to the Doctor who still sat there with her. 

He had been watching them interact with a mostly neutral expression, but Rose could see the other emotions that would creep past the cracks in his mask every now and then. 

“I never did say, back there, did I? Thank you, for the gifts. That was, well, that was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me, actually.” 

“You're welcome, Doctor. It wasn't a big deal. I just saw some things I thought you'd like.” She shrugged. “Like I said, what do you get for the man who can give you the universe across all time?”

“You didn't have to do that for me”

She then repeated what she said to the part human Doctor, “I wanted to. You give me, everything, but I have nothing to give-”

The Doctor cut her off. “You give everything, Rose, every day. Every moment.”

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“Yes.” He said, firmly, grabbing her hand.

They sat there, in companionable silence for a couple of minutes. Rose watched the Doctor out of the corner of her eye, he looked like he was wanting to bring something up, so she prodded him. “Penny for your thoughts?” 

He let go of her hand. “So, um, he tells me that you would...um...” the Doctor started uncomfortably.

“Would what?” Rose asked.

“Be okay with...” He shifted and played with his mug. “Both, of us?” He couldn't look at her while he said it. 

“You're both the same man,” she told him. “You're both 'the Doctor.' And I could never leave one of you behind. Could never, as long as you want me around, anyway.” 

He looked at her with wide eyes, full of hope, and pain, and other emotions she wasn't sure she wanted to explore just yet.

“I don't know if I can, Rose. I don't know if I'm...strong enough to do this. To watch you...one day, you'll leave and I'll have to...” He trailed off, not able to get the words out.

She got up to wash out her mug. “The way I see it, you have two choices here. You can go ahead and keep distancing yourself from me to attempt to lessen the pain, or you can embrace the pain as a reminder of the times we have.” She then turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at him with her arms crossed. “I'd much rather not be distant.”

The Doctor sat back in his seat, regarding Rose with a proud look. “Rose Tyler, when did you become so wise?”

Rose gave him a small smile, and replied with her own question. “Since when do you actually talk things out?”

“Guess we've both learned a bit,” was all the Doctor said on the subject. He then asked, “What about him?”

“What about 'im?” Rose asked defensively.

“I know that you and him have...and that's okay, it is, but I don't know if I can watch you...you know,” He just couldn't say the word 'die' for anything when it came to her. "And also watch you be with him.” He was very uncomfortable. “I still think you'd be better off without me.”

“I ask you again, Doctor, are you jealous?” she queried. “Of what is, basically, yourself?” When the Doctor couldn't meet her look, she knew that she was on the right track. “No, you don't get to be jealous of him. You spend every moment pushing me away, pushing me towards him. Be jealous of anyone else, that's fine, but not him.”

She then walked back over and sat down in the booth, opposite him. Leaning forward, she said earnestly, “Look, we don't have to do anything. I'll be 'ere for you, however you need, however you want. But I will be here for you.” She then leaned back and informed him that, “I still love you, I just want you to be happy.”

The Doctor didn't say anything, just looked at her. It was the same look he had while they were on Krop Tor, discussing houses and mortgages, just after she had told him that being stuck with him wasn't bad. He opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, but then closed it.

They stayed like that for a moment, until Rose gave a yawn, which made him smile. “Thought you weren't tired,” he teased.

“Knackered actually, was just windin' 'im up.”

“Now that was, that was cruel, that's what that was!” 

“But it would have been so wrong not to.” She laughed. “Come on, you know you've teased the hell out of 'im too. Or at least want to.”

“Weeelll.”

“I wouldn't have such a strong desire to tease him if it weren't for his reactions to everything that's changed,” Rose admitted. The two giggled for a moment. 

“It's almost too easy,” the Doctor agreed.

“I've got to get some sleep,” Rose announced after their giggles finally died down. 

“All right then, good night Rose.”

“Good night, my Doctor.”

After a shower, Rose hit the bed, and had a dreamless sleep.


	15. One Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next week of adventures

The part human Doctor began teaching Rose more about telepathy. Her previous teacher was good, but she was a weaker telepath with a different skill set. The Doctor and Rose were closely matched in strength, though Rose's telepathy wasn't touch based, and she was strongest in emotions. The Doctor didn't have to touch where another telepath was concerned, and had some ability in empathy. She learned that in his eighth life, he was a full empath.

Over the next week, the part human Doctor got settled into his new body and personality.

He had a tendency to be even more rude than his counterpart, and not on accident, either. " _It's my inner Donna, Rose, she was rude, if anything I've got a double dose of the rudeness._ "

He was sassy, in a level not seen since he was all leather and ears. " _Way to go, Rickey, you've learned the days of the week._ " he said when Mickey and Rose were talking.

He was darker, easier to send into anger, but he was good at channeling it elsewhere when the moment was over. Rose found herself pushed up against a wall, being snogged by the man more than once.

Over the next week, the three of them ran. They ran from queens, from villagers, from themselves.

XxXxXxXx

On the first day, on the planet Virimira Four in the 28th century, the Doctor left his part human self and Rose to calm a group of villagers when he went and turned off the machine that was being used to alter their brains and make them turn against each other. They then had to run, fast, as the villagers then turned on the dictator responsible.

XxXxXxXx

The second day, they wound up on Plesiana 2 in 1192. It was a beautiful place, and Rose just wanted to go swimming, but while there, before she could even show off her bikini, the part human Doctor was imprisoned, thanks to the blue suit. Apparently, dark blue was forbidden to be worn in large quantities, unless you were royalty. Rose was glad she had left her jacket behind. They came up with a plan to get him out. Using the Doctors' looks, and another blue suit, they made the guards think that he had escaped. The Doctor ran and lost the guards, who, thankfully, had short legs like all Plesians, despite being as tall on average as the Doctors were.

Rose took the brown suit to the imprisoned Doctor and had him put it on. The two then made their escape into the crowds of people before anyone could notice the switch.

XxXxXxXx

After that, they immediately went to Hawaii in 1829, where Rose finally got to swim, long before the crowds came.

When she took off her cover up, the part human gave her an appreciative whistle, which had her blushing. The full Time Lord didn't say anything, but he did stare at the tattoo on her side, shown to them for the first time. " _BAD WOLF_ " in blue letters.

They also explored the lava fields, where it was safe to, anyway.

The whole time, Rose pretended not to notice the full Gallifreyan, still in the blue suit, eying her up when he thought she couldn't see him. If he wanted to pretend he wasn't looking, let him. But there was no ignoring the part human Doctor, who spent every moment flirting. Nor did she want to.

XxXxXxXx

On the third day, the Doctors were back in their customary colors. They went to a museum on one of the moons of Deiterious in the 75th century, where the Doctors both started cataloging what was 'wrong.'

Rose, who was used to this behavior, wandered around the museum, keeping one of the Doctors in sight at all times. She came to a statue she had seen before in the Earth exhibit, from their time in Rome. It was the Fortuna statue that she had hid behind to give the Doctor the vial when they were being turned to stone. _"Rose is prettier than you."_

In her excitement, she ran over and grabbed the brown suited Doctor's hand to show him. The blue suited Doctor noticed her excitement and came over to see what was up. A nearby museum worker came over to be helpful, but when she asked the Doctor what interest his wife and himself had in Earth, the blue suited Doctor piped up, with "Oh, no, they aren't married," despite the looks he was getting from his counterpart.

They were on a planet where the indigenous people considered holding hands to be reserved for married couples. And that's how the last Time Lord and Rose were married for the twenty-third time.

The part human Doctor then decided that toasting the "happy couple" was a great idea.

Once they got back to the TARDIS, the man with two hearts disappeared, not to be seen for the rest of the day.

The part human Doctor used that opportunity to call in her half of their bargain, and got his one scan. Rose should have known that it was going to be a full body scan.

XxXxXxXx

The fourth day found the trio hitting the randomizer. They landed on one of the Moons of Poosh, about 2500 years before the Lost one was found, where a dignitary of the nearby planet Hinayan had crashed. They got him home easily enough, just in time to get him to his peace talks. Turned out, a member of the opposing faction had managed to damage his ship.

They had stayed for the history making peace talks. "This peace ripples across the entire quadrant," the part human had told Rose when it ended. "The area will wind up in a long period of Hakuna Matata."

"'No worries', really?" Rose laughed. "The Lion King again?"

"It's a great film," she heard in stereo.

XxXxXxXx

An hour later, their personal time lines, they were in London, again. 1657 this time. They were tracking a piece of technology that gave the wearer the ability to make others do what they wanted. It was a necklace, just a simple looking thing, but the woman, girl really, she was 16, was trying to become queen.

XxXxXxXx

On the fifth day, Rose came out to the console room to find that the Doctors had already landed the ship. Inside of another ship.

"This is the first human made interstitial transposition vehicle," the Time Lord said, with as much pride as if he had built the thing himself.

"And what's that when it's at home?" Rose asked.

"Similar to what the TARDIS does when we move in space, but not time," the other Doctor said. "It moves within a dimension that exists within our dimension."

"From the outside, it looks like it disappears there and reappears here." the Doctor wearing brown finished.

Something happened on the ship, Rose was still not sure what, but all of the passengers and most of the crew, save one woman disappeared. They were all eventually returned, and the Doctors had needed to shut off the engines and restart them. There were unknown beings involved as well, ones that knew everyone's names. When one of the beings was calling for you, though, you were the only one hearing it. By the end of the adventure, both Doctors had been shaken when one of the beings had called them by their real name.

XxXxXxXx

Later, they were taking part in more meditative maintenance, with plenty of shocks for the both of them. Strains of Nina Simone's _Feeling Good_ started playing, causing the part human Doctor to give it up when he heard Rose singing along with it. He didn't notice the other Doctor wasn't working anymore, just watching the two of them.

But Rose did.

XxXxXxXx

On the sixth day, the trio was arrested, again. Apparently, being taller than the king was an offense in Yunadiliaxa in the sixth century.

They found that the place they were taken was going to be extremely easy to escape from the mess hall.

"All we need is a distraction," the Gallifreyan man said.

"Ooh, I've got this. One distraction coming up," Rose piped up with a grin. She loaded a fork full of something like corn, took careful aim, and let it fly. It went over four tables. No one would know where it came from. The corn landed on two people, who were both quickly angry, but still too subdued by the guards there to get up just yet.

Rose loaded up some red potatoes this time, and flung that off in another direction. Before that could land, she took the roll that was still on the brown suited Doctor's plate and sent that off in a third direction.

That was the catalyst. Both the person who got mashed potatoes and the person who got whacked by the roll sent other food flying in the direction their hits came from. Suddenly, the whole place was full of people throwing bits of their food at one another. Rose and the Doctors were over by the wall, two tables from the food fight still, but it was getting closer.

The guards rushed to the commotion to try to break it up, and the trio took the opportunity to slip out the door unnoticed. They only came upon one guard while making their break, and he was quickly put into a closet and his keys taken from him.

When they were outside, they ran as fast as they could to the TARDIS, half a kilometer away.

"Food fight?" the part human Doctor breathlessly asked. "Where did that idea come from?"

"This isn't the first time I've had to start a food fight on one of our trips." Rose laughed. "On Justicia, I started one there too! When I was 13, I had this...boyfriend, sorta. Was a horrible snogger, but he was great at causing trouble. Learned how to start a food fight without people knowing who started it from 'im." She paused, thinking. "Maybe not the most grown up way to deal with the situation, but it worked lika charm, dinnit?"

XxXxXxXx

Later that night, the dual hearted Doctor disappeared again. The other Doctor took it as an opportunity to visit Wembley Stadium on June 17, 2007, where they danced together and Rose laughed at how Mathew Bellamy was dressed exactly like the Doctor in a suit (red, not blue), t shirt, and trainers.

Afterward, the pair went for chips, then went back to the TARDIS, where Rose pushed the Doctor onto the jump seat. Thing were going in a promising direction, when the other Doctor walked in on the pair. "Oh, um, I'll just...sorry, carry on, don't mind me."

After an awkward moment, Rose left, red faced, and the part human Doctor told his other self to, "Walk away before you are noticed, or join in next time." He then picked up his jacket off the floor, and left the console room and a sputtering Time Lord behind.

XxXxXxXx

On the seventh day, ten days after Rose was back in the universe, they wound up in Cardiff, helping Jack's cause by taking some people out of their time back to their own time. Rose spent a bit of time catching up with Mickey and Jack in the hub.

None of them paid any attention to Gwen's new paperweight.

XxXxXxXx

Later, while they were on Nin' Na'vi in the 121st century, the human Doctor wandered off with a wink at Rose, leaving her with the Doctor in brown. They were just sightseeing, but the Doctor managed to offend some noble woman. Next thing they knew, they were having arrows shot at them.

They ran into the market, hand in hand, hoping to be rid of their pursuers. It didn't work, but at least they were able to get them to stop shooting at them. Rose saw a familiar blue suit and spiky hair as they was running through the marketplace. She yelled out, "Doctah, see ya at the TARDIS!" as she ran by, causing the man to look up from what he was looking at and roll his eyes as he watched the other two run past, with a group of soldiers in chase.

He took his time getting back. When he arrived, he found the other two inside, waiting for him in the console room.

"Didja find what you were looking for?" Rose asked him.

"Yeah, I did." The Doctor grinned. He then pulled a bundle out of his transdimensional pockets and showed Rose and his other self what he bought. It was a long, black trench coat, almost identical to the one his other self wore.

He then pulled out a box from inside the new coat, which didn't have transdimensional pockets, not yet anyway. Inside the box was a necklace. The chain was silver colored, and it had a small, very blue crystal hanging from it.

"This," he announced to Rose, "is a blue crystal from Metebelis Three. The woman who had it had no clue what she had. These crystals have the ability to break hypnosis and mind control. They can also enhance intelligence and natural psychic abilities." He went behind Rose and put the necklace on her.

"Now, what did you two manage to do to have soldiers chasing you down?"

XxXxXxXx

That night, Rose's nightmares returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: these mini stories are all little plot bunnies, available to anyone who wants to adopt them and give them a good home. They don't bite, I'm sure of it.
> 
> Except for the story about the interstitial transposition vehicle, which was inspired by the audiobook "The Last Voyage" read by David Tennant. It does bite, just so you know.


	16. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: swearing, gets a little adult towards the end of the chapter

The Doctor was in the infirmary late one night after Rose had gone to bed. He sat there, going over the scans he had taken of Rose one more time. He had the scan from her healing bruise, the scan from her good shoulder for comparison, and the full body scan he had done a few days prior. 

He compared the long lines of data gleaned from it. The data was fairly conclusive. She scanned as human, mostly. Her muscle and bone density were changed, they were much stronger now. The results were comparable with his other self's muscle and bone density. The scans from her healing arm showed incredible cellular regeneration. Basically, she was stronger, faster, and would live longer. How did this happen?

He wondered what he would find if he had a proper blood sample. Would he find the mutations that caused aging? He had the mutations, slower than a full human, yes, but he still had them. Even his other self had similar mutations. He aged slowly over time. It could be a thousand years before he looked old, if he could keep a body for long enough to do so that was, but he did age.. 

A multipurpose scan could never be anywhere near as good as running several more specialized tests with actual samples. 

He hid the scan results away in a spot the TARDIS made for him to do so, where his other self wouldn't find them. He didn't even ask, he was just going to keep the results in his pocket, but the sentient time ship insisted, and she was as stubborn as Rose. 

He pushed his glasses back up his nose, and proceeded down the hall towards his and his counterpart's room. On his way, the TARDIS shifted corridors and took him to Rose's room, where the door was cracked open. Curious why he would be brought to her room, he pushed the door open, and looked in.

She was obviously in the throes of a nightmare. Face screwed up, a sheen of sweat over her, tears in her eyes. It was a state he knew all to well. No wonder she didn't want to sleep. She had come up against so many things that could cause a lesser woman nightmares like this, but had never seemed to have nightmares before they had been separated. Bad dreams, yes, but not nightmares of this caliber. He wondered what she was dreaming about as he stepped into the room and towards her bed.

XxXxXxXx

_She's fighting in an earthen room, with a sword in hand and red cloaked, masked creatures surrounding her. She's fighting for everyone she has left. She wins her battle, but these creatures have no honor and try to destroy everything anyway. She runs outside just as a flash of green light hits._

_She runs outside into a forest at night, fog surrounding her, running, and running, and running. She has no clue what she's running from, until she looks back and sees everything being swallowed by an inky Darkness._

_Trying to outrun the Darkness creeping ever closer. She broke free of the fog and found herself in a clearing, full moon overhead, turning everything into a silvery color. The Darkness still coming, faster now._

_She realizes she's in the wrong clearing. It's empty, dead, the people she loves are there, but they are misshapen, twisted, wrong. She runs right through the clearing, back into the forest, still being chased by the ever present blackness. She comes to another clearing, but this one is burning, on fire, the people long gone and rock like beings live everywhere._

_She leaves that clearing, running through the forest again, running to new clearings where everything is wrong, desperate to find a clearing where things make sense. She's been running for so long now, and she's so tired, but she can't stop, she can't slow down, the ever present blackness behind her is getting closer and closer. She's terrified of what may be inside of it. The Darkness is calling for her, calling out, reaching out. Tendrils of evil trying to stop her from taking more steps._

_She breaks into a clearing that seems right at first glance, but then she notices her Doctor's screwdriver on the ground. Everyone she loves is dying, drowning, being suffocated, blown up. The Darkness has her surrounded now, closing in, things get darker and darker. The darkness is gonna win. Donna stands there, the fire within her finally lit, brilliant red hair covering her head the only true color in the landscape. A lone wolf appears in the clearing, and heads straight for her. Suddenly, the wolf howls, a long, mournful howl, and Donna runs into the Darkness. The wolf chases after her and the spot where they disappeared glows gold and white, opening..._

XxXxXxXx

The Doctor stepped over to the bed and gently said, “Rose.” He took her shoulder and shook it lightly. “Rose, wake up.” 

He should have been prepared for this, he really should have. Especially after watching her for the past ten days. One moment he was shaking her awake. The next, he was somehow laying on the bed, pinned under the love of his lives, who was growling and straddling his waist with one hand pressed against his throat and the other balled into a fist. A familiar golden gleam was in her eyes, confirming something he had been wondering about since she first made telepathic contact with him.

He had to suppress the instinct to pull her off of him. He'd only wind up getting one of them hurt. “Rose Tyler,” he said in a soft, soothing voice. “It's just a nightmare, it can't hurt you.”

This seemed to draw her out of wherever her mind was, because suddenly, her eyes focused on him and the gold disappeared. She looked him over and realized what she was doing. Instantly, a look of utter horror crossed her face, and she scrambled off of him, repeating, “I'm sorry,” over and over again. 

He got up and went over to her, gently taking her in his arms. “Hey, hey, none of that now. You had no clue what you were doing.” He rubbed her back. 

She then stiffened up and pulled back. “I could have hurt you,” she told him, not looking at him.

“I would have stopped you,” he replied, then added, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm okay,” she automatically said, then she turned and went into her en-suite. 

He grimaced. She was doing what he did. She was trying to conceal the emotions. If you can't conceal them, hide until you can. Had she learned that from him? Or was it something she picked up while away? He heard the water running.

Four minutes, 38.5 seconds after leaving, Rose came back out and faced him. She had washed her face of the traces of tears and sweat from her nightmare.

“Thank you for pulling me out of that,” she said, in a wary voice.

“No problem, Rose. What was it about?” he asked in a soft voice.

Instantly, a range of emotions passed over her face, anger, distress, fear, sadness. “I c-can't,” she stuttered.

He pulled her in again, holding her. “It's okay, Rose. It's over now, you can tell me. Let me help you.” She had helped him just by being there, he'd do the same for her now. 

He heard her voice, muffled, “You'll hate me.”

He pulled back, cupped her face in his hands and looked her right in the eyes. He then opened up the barriers over his emotions so that she could feel them and proclaimed, “Rose Marion Tyler, I can guarantee that there will never be anything that you could ever do that would make me hate you.” He then added, “Any version of me,” to add in his other self for good measure. 

Rose pulled back and sat down on the edge of the bed, head down, worrying her lip with her teeth. She then backed upon the bed so that she was in the middle of it and patted the bed in front of her, indicating that he should sit down. He did. They were sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, facing each other. This was the same position they used often when working on the telepathy. 

He realized that she was going to show him telepathically. The upside to this was that she didn't have to come up with the words, and that she could do this quickly, letting the information go fast and him sort it out. The downside was that he would see everything. She couldn't hide when telling him about something telepathically. That required a lot of trust. Because she thought that he would hate her when he saw whatever she was going to show him, it was a level of trust that left him in awe.

Wordlessly, they both reached for each other's temples, in order to maximize the connection. 

XxXxXxXx  
_Pete's World, 6 months after Bad Wolf Bay, 10 months after Canary Wharf._

The Doctor's goodbye had broken her, killed what was left of the girl who was sure her Doctor was going to save her from this world where everything felt so damned wrong. Where she couldn't even look at the night sky without the reminder that she wasn't where she belonged. Where she always had a headache. But the Doctor's goodbye had also given her renewed determination. The man burned up a sun just to see her once more, surely he'd welcome her back home with open arms, right?

She spent every moment she wasn't doing official Torchwood work on working on her plan to get back home, her real home, the incredible blue box with a world inside and the man who made her feel like she was actually worth something. But this time, she wouldn't be the damsel in distress, she'd be able to get herself out of more situations, she'd understand more. She divided up her time between working on pan-dimensional transportation and learning. The mental portion of her learning helped her with the travel machine. She needed a name for it. “travel machine” reminded her too much of what the Absorbaloff had called the TARDIS. 

She had learned basic hand to hand techniques during her training for Torchwood, and it gave her the idea to learn other arts. She had become fairly good with a sword, having chose that because she had seen the Doctor wield one several times and knew the skill could come in handy. Her favorite was the katana. Hers had the traditional blade, with a gold guard and gold and white wrappings. The end of the handle had a wolf stamped into it. 

Another skill she was developing was called parkour. It was meant to be a method of getting from point A to point B in as fast and efficient way as possible. Rose had developed an interest when she saw that it used many of the same skills she had used in her gymnastics. The training area even looked like it'd be able to be used in learning gymnastics, with much of the same equipment. She had seen how the skills could come in handy. She quickly learned that it was like a martial art, a whole philosophy behind it, a new way of seeing the world and interacting with it. 

A week after Tony was born, Rose was watching the news. Britain had finally sent a pair of probes to Mars. Their mission was simple: to look at the poles and determine if they could be used as a viable, long term source of water when the first humans got to the planet in the first step to being a proper, spacefaring civilization. 

The day that Genevieve One was set to land on the planet, Rose was paying attention to everything to do with the mission. Too much about this was familiar. The name of the probes (two in this universe), the place they were going (though in the prime universe, the probe was just going to orbit the planet), the parties involved. 

Mickey thought Rose was being paranoid. He said that the problems they had in the other universe had happened years before this and that it was the Doctor's regeneration energy that attracted them in the first place. He thought that she was just looking for trouble, anywhere.

Rose thought Mickey was being an idiot. Mickey the Idiot. Though his grandmother and his I.D. knew him as Rickey. The thought gave her giggles. When Mickey asked her what the hell was so funny, she brushed him off, saying she had just had a funny thought and didn't he have paperwork to catch up on?

Of course, Mickey was right. Rose had been looking for some trouble to get into. She had been far too good in the last couple of months. Trying not to worry her mother too much while she was in the late stages of her pregnancy. Keeping to her work, and her escape plan, and her learning. Keeping busy whenever possible. But after a couple of months, she needed something in the adventure category. She needed to RUN.

But he was wrong where it came to the probe. When the masked beings showed up on the video, Mickey came running into her office, freaking out. They had barely won against the Sycorax before, and that was only because the Doctor had managed to wake up just in time and figured out how to stop them. 

There was something they had this time that they didn't have before: knowledge of who they were, how some of their technology had worked, and information on the ancient rules of combat. Rose grabbed her teleport and strapped it on. She also grabbed her vortex manipulator and put it in her pocket. Couldn't hurt, and the vortex manipulator had a wider range than the teleport. 

They watched the screen together, more members of their little circle joining one at a time, all waiting for the ship to get closer and the translation software to start picking up on the language. Suddenly, the Sycorax's words could be understood. 

“Cattle, you lands, your riches, your lives belong to us. Surrender now, or they will die.”

“Who're 'they,'” Mickey, Jake, Melissa, and Tosh all said together.

“Oh, no,” Rose replied. “Ten quid says that we have a bunch of people standing on the roofs here really soon.”

“Why do you say that?” Toshiko Sato asked.

“I take it you've come across this,” Melissa Saroyan commented.

“You're on,” Jake Simmonds said, always one to take a bet.

“Sucker's bet,” Mickey Smith finished, having lived through this once himself. 

Half an hour later, Melissa walked out of the room and up to the roof, standing on the edge, with close to a quarter of the population of Planet Earth joining her.

When President Jones of the People's Republic of Great Britain and President Summers of the United States of America disappeared in a flash of blue light, Rose knew that was her cue. She armed herself with her Bilitian blaster, and, remembering these people loved swords, her katana. Then, she teleported Jake, Mickey, and herself to the Sycorax ship, which was hovering over the Atlantic Ocean.

“ _Blimey, it's like this is your life_ ” her mind said in the Doctor's voice. A memory. Here she was, again, on a Sycorax ship, with Mickey Smith and Harriet Jones, and no Doctor, only this time, there wasn't going to be a Doctor to wake up and save them. She was going to have to be the Doctor, and this time, she knew how to do it right. _“Rose, Tyler, Defender of the Earth.”_

When they appeared in the ship, the Sycorax and both Presidents were both shocked. 

“Who are you?” President Summers asked. 

“Agent Tyler, thank God you're here,” Harriet Jones said in relief.

“How did you get here?” the Sycorax's leader asked. His words translated through Jake.

“Oh, you know, just disappeared there, reappeared here.” Rose replied, flippantly waving her teleport. 

“The yellow girl, with the clever device will speak for your planet,” the leader said.

“What?” President Jones asked, shocked.

“But she can't, you can't you're not a world leader. You- You're just a girl!” the President of the United States said.

“Rose, remember how bad this went last time,” Mickey reminded her in a low voice.

“Yeah, I've got that. Never would have thought of that otherwise, thanks,” Rose hissed back.

'Give 'em hell, Rosie,” Jake put in. the only one who seemed to have any confidence in her.

Rose knew what she had to do, but how to do it was another story. 

“Silence!” the Sycorax leader yelled, effectively silencing the others and giving Rose an idea on how to throw them off. 

“How am I supposed to speak for their planet if I'm silent?” she asked, as if she were perplexed. “How's that, big fella?”

“It is not your planet?” the Sycorax leader asked?

“Well, that's a bit of a conundrum,” Rose admitted. “Is it, or isn't it?” She walked closer. “A bit of a yes and no situation, really. For now, I live there, and I'm human, so....for the purposes of today, it is.” While she was ranting, she moved closer to the big yellowish orange button she recognized from the other universe. She then pretended to have just noticed the button as she got close to it.

“Oh, hey, would ya lookit that!” she exclaimed, getting fully into character. She knew how to throw them off their game. “A big button, a great big button. I love great big buttons! It's a great big button which should never, ever be pressed, controlling the people below, am I right?”

She opened the door under the button as if she were confirming what she was already sure of. “Ooh, blood control! I love a good bit of blood control.” She put her finger in the blood, cringing internally, and held it up. “Where'd you get the blood?” 

“If you lick that-” Mickey started, then shuddered.

“Ew, Mickey. 'M not possessed of a super tongue. And even if I was, I don't care what blood type they're controlling.”

“Press that, and you kill every one of the filthy cattle on the rooftops,” the Sycorax leader informed her.

“Oh, is that so?” She looked around at all the Sycorax in amusement. “Is that really so?” She slammed her hand down on the button.

Both Presidents Jones and Summers, as well as Jake all screamed “No!” 

Harriet Jones then cried out, “What have you done?”

“What ya think, big boy? They dead, or not?” she asked the Sycorax leader with wide eyes, like she didn't know the answer.

“The controlled ones were released. They were freed.”

Rose snorted. “Yeah, 'cause I freed them.” She then turned to the humans in the room and let them know that, “Blood control is a form of hypnotism. The people below are fine.”

“Who are you?” The Sycorax leader asked. “Who are you to have these technologies and knowledge far beyond your primitive rock.”

“Oh, me? I'm just a girl. Little ol' me. Don't let me out of your sight,” she sang. The quote was lost on everyone in the room except Mickey. That song wasn't popular in this world.

“Who. Are. You!” The Sycorax leader roared. God, it was easy to wind them up. She needed to wind this one up.

“Well, since you're so insistent.” She sighed. “M'name's Rose. But I'm known by so many names. The Valiant Child, Defender of the Earth.” Her voice got low. “The Big, Bad Wolf.” The rest of her jovial demeanor vanished as she continued, “And you little piggies might wanna leave this system alone.”

“We will blow this chunk to bits. I'll summon our entire armada if I have to.”

“Well, I'm sure you've got the firepower, but why? These little apes are only just beginning. Besides, this is a level five planet. Need I remind you that level five planets are to be protected?”

“Your technology and knowledge suggests otherwise.”

“That's it, MY technology and knowledge. Didn't we already discuss this, I'm not from this place. Did you find much higher technology in use on that planet? I think not. They haven't even put people on the next planet over yet. Hell, they can barely get people to their own moon!”

“It'll be easy to enslave the planet then.” the Sycorax leader declared.

Rose knew what she had to do, and this wasn't going to be easy. She walked over to her team. “Tell me, big boy, do the ancient rites of combat still apply?” she asked the leader, still in character. She then turned to Mickey and Jake and said in a very low voice, “Get that big weapon that the other Harriet used ready, just in case. Don't use it unless I say so, or I'm not here to say so.”

When she turned back to the leader, she asked, “Well, do they?”

“Rose! You can't!” Mickey cried out. “Look at him. Look at you. You don't stand a chance! Even the Doctor almost didn't win. He got his hand cut off! You're human! You'll get hurt! Think about Jackie and Tony!”

Jake just said, “Be careful.” He knew about her rapid healing, though no one knew for sure just how far that ability extended.

“Mickey, you got to let me do this," Rose hissed. They were big, lumbering brutes with huge swords. She had speed and maneuverability on her side.

“Yes, yes, they do. What would a mewling child care?” The Sycorax leader said through Jake.

“Good to know.” She took a deep breath and drew her gold and silver katana. “Through the ancient rites of combat, I challenge you! You win, I'll stand aside, I win, you leave and the Sycorax never return to this system for all of time.”

Every member of the Sycorax laughed. Rose was going through her memories of her previous encounter, trying desperately to remember how they fought, and what the insult the Doctor had used was. She might need it to provoke the leader, but it was so long ago. 

“I'd swat you like an insect!”

“Well, do you accept my challenge, or not?” she asked, looking like she was trying to be brave. She wanted to look afraid, but not too afraid. One thing about being a short woman was that the big brutes tended to think you were easy to kick around. Truthfully, she had very little fear. She was running on adrenaline, and felt more alive than she had in months. Her memory kicked in, and she decided now was the time to taunt him. “Or are you a cranak pel casacree salvak?” 

She still had no idea what that meant, but the reaction was what she suspected it would be. Fury contorted the leader's face. “I will enjoy having your death be my first blood.” He then drew his sword, put it point down in front of him and gave his little bow, Rose followed suit, trying to stay within tradition.

Rose knew she couldn't beat him on strength. She might not be able to beat him on stamina. His sword was made more for stabbing. Hers was better in the cutting department. This wasn't going to be easy. Oh, she hoped she wouldn't screw this up.

When they got up, she let him come after her first. He did as she expected: a run at her with a quick stabbing motion. She dodged it easily, swinging her katana around to get a shot at his wrist. She had dodged too far, but still got a little cut on the man's wrist. Just a graze, but she had drawn first blood.

This enraged him more, and when he turned around to come after her again, he had his sword held with both hands and over his head. This next blow was going to be a slash from overhead. This blow was also dodged, and her attack at his leg missed entirely. 

It was time to go on the offensive. She sent another slashing blow, which glanced off the Sycorax's sword, and dodged another powerful swing. Then she got in one, two, three strikes, leaving a shallow cut on his face, and a deeper one on his leg. She got hit with the sword once as she was delivering her blows, but miraculously, the blade was turned just enough that she'd have a horrible bruise instead of the deep cut she feared. That was lucky.

The blow had knocked her to the ground, and the leader went to finish Rose off, but she rolled out of the way at the last second, dodging the kill blow, just as Mickey yelled, “Watch yourself!”

“So helpful! Shut it Mickey. I need to concentrate!”

Rose was putting all of her concentration and training to use. The rage of the man was going to cost him dearly. After another almost missed hit from the large alien, which grazed her cheek, he was swinging around when she saw her opportunity. She used the momentum from both of them and his momentarily exposed position to make another slash at his sword hand. She connected, and he dropped his sword, a deep cut on his wrist.

She then brought her katana around and held it at his throat, against the side. “I win,” she stated.

“Kill me,” the Sycorax leader told her, holding his wrist with the other hand, trying to stop the bleeding.

“No, not unless I have to. I never kill if there's a better way. I'll spare your life, but get out of this system and never return. Have we got a deal?” 

“Yes,” he answered, hissing the 's.'

She pressed the blade of her sword against his neck and hissed through clenched teeth. “Swear!”

“I swear.”

“Good to hear.” She then turned and commanded the room, “I won the challenge. My command is this, you will leave this system of planets and never return, until the end of time!”

She then walked toward the humans in the room, watching their faces carefully, suspecting that the leader would be treacherous like he had in the other world. To her surprise, he didn't, and they were all teleported to the London streets, just outside of the Canary Wharf building.

She had the team in control of the weapon power it down when the ship was gone, and she knew when they did, because a low hum she hadn't noticed at first disappeared when they powered it down.

In the aftermath, Rose learned that one person had actually jumped when she pressed the button. He had left a suicide note and was going up to the roof when the blood control took over. She'd have to live with that the rest of her life. 

Of course, with Mickey seeing her injuries, he was brought into the secret of Rose's healing. He did not take it well, but he did stop proposing to her every month, so that worked out in her favor. 

The next day, when her bruises and wounds were gone completely. Rose decided that she needed a reminder of who she really was. She sketched out two words and went to get a tattoo made. She had it done in the same spot that the sword had hit her. 

XxXxXxXx  
_6 months after the Sycorax Ship, 16 months after being trapped in Pete's World._

Rose had been moved out of her family's mansion for 4 months now. When she slept, she needed to sleep, and you can't do that with a baby around. For tonight, she was back. Rose's mum and Pete were out for a night, and they left Rose alone with Tony. She knew why her mother insisted, even though she could have easily gotten the people she paid to do it. 

The woman had been dropping hints for some time that Rose should go out. She was always setting up Rose with blind dates. Pretty boys who were mostly idiots. Rose actually made friends with two of them, both of whom seemed to actually be able to follow her ramblings. She then brought both of them into Torchwood. One was a medic, the other was in research. 

_How the hell does a six month old make so much mess eating?_ She wondered after, picking bits of smashed up pea out of her hair. Why her mother thought this would ignite what she called “baby fever,” she'll never know. 

She loved her brother. The little bugger was cute as hell, even now, while covered in smashed veg, including his hair. But she couldn't see herself doing this all the time.

Dinner was over for the tiny Tyler, and Rose took him to get cleaned up. They went through his bedtime routine, which had been helpfully written out on a paper stuck to the refrigerator. After the little one was asleep, she went back downstairs with the baby monitor and waited for her mother and kinda sorta father to come back home. She needed sleep, but she knew something was going to happen with the baby if she let herself pass out. 

She passed the time perusing the internet for ideas to go on the trip her Dad got her for Christmas this year. 

Once the older Tylers were home, she went back to her old room and passed out. 

Her dreamless sleep was shattered by the ringing of her phone. “Who the 'ell is calling at, fuck, 3:20 in the morning?” Her eyes finally focused on the bright screen in the dark room, and she found that it was Jake calling. Jake, the proponent of nap time at work. Jake Simmonds, the champion of a full nine hours every night. He was calling her at 3:20 am. “Fuckin' 'ell. What's wrong Jake?”

“It's the Sycorax, they're back, and coming in fast.”

She was up in a flash, putting on her clothes and boots, getting her teleport ready to go. “Hey Jake, get that weapon ready to go again, just in case. I hate to say it, but we might actually have to use it this time.”

“Are you sure about this Rose?” Jake asked, concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah,” Rose replied. “I don't like it, either.” Then hung up. Jake didn't do byes.

Later, after explaining to her mother what was going on, she took off with Pete and went to Torchwood Tower, where she found Jake, Mickey, and the rest of her team waiting for them.

Just as the sun was coming up, the Sycorax ship went into orbit over the planet, just above London. They transmitted over the same frequency as before. Declaring that they were going to destroy the planet if the cattle didn't surrender.

Rose then transmitted back, telling them that they were violating the agreement of the Ancient Rites of Combat and they were in violation of Shadow Proclamation statutes, and that if they didn't leave now, Earth had the right to defend themselves. 

They didn't leave.

XxXxXxXx

She pulled back on the memories before it could go any farther, then showed him the dream she had before he woke her up.

When she pulled back physically and opened her eyes, only about 5 minutes after she started showing him, he looked pale and wasn't looking at her. They sat in silence for another minute while he processed what he saw, the nightmare and the memories. He still wasn't looking at her, and she was trying not to look at him too much, but she kept sneaking glances.

Finally, he looked over at her and his mouth opened, then he shut it with an almost audible snap. Then he tried to say something again, but the words wouldn't come out. 

She felt the tears in her eyes. This was it, this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. And if this Doctor, who a week and a half ago, blew up millions of Daleks couldn't handle it, what hope had she of the other Doctor handling it? 

She jumped up off of the bed and started backing off to the other side of the room, ignoring the chimes in her mind from the ship. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I couldn't see another way. I know there had to be one, but even years later, I can't see it, and they had already gone back on a promise once, and you hate me now. I told you that you would. I'm sorry.” Her eyes had squeezed shut while she was rambling.

When she hit the wall behind her, a second later, she felt a hand on the side of her face. She opened her eyes. There was a look of pure despair on his face. And he just looked at her for a moment before speaking.

“And I told you that there was nothing you could ever do that would make me hate you,” he assured her. “I can't see another way there either. They already had their chance, you did amazing, better than I had. I'm just so sorry that you ever had to make that choice, to feel that pain.”

Her eyes were wide, disbelieving. “But-” Rose began, but was cut off by the man before her.

“No 'buts,' Rose. I don't hate you. They made their choice. You gave them many more chances than I would have.”

“But I'm a soldier now. I'm a murderer. Davros was right. I killed that poor guy on the roof, then I ordered the destruction of who knows how many people, then, years later, I talked a brilliant woman into stepping out in front of a-” 

The Doctor put his hand over her mouth to silence her. “That is not a murderer. The guy who jumped was going to do it anyway, remember what I said about not being able to hypnotize a person to death? It's probably better that he did it then, when people were back away from the edge of the building, rather than take the chance of someone else getting hurt. Those on that ship made their choice. It was them, or slavery of the human race, if not death. And what happened with Donna, I’ve done worse to realign a time line and because of what you did, that no longer happened.” He then took his hand off of her mouth. “And I. Do. Not. Hate you. For having. To make. That. Decision. Okay?”

She nodded, but still didn't feel like it was okay. Suddenly, his lips were on hers, warm and inviting. He was pressing her into the wall yet again, and deepening the kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair, and he pulled up her night shirt enough to touch her bare skin. She felt his tongue flick out and run over the seam of her lips, and a moment later, she parted them. Their tongues danced together for a moment. 

Then she felt him against her hip. They broke apart for just a moment, for a breath, as she pushed his jacket off. He claimed her lips again. She pulled the bottom of his t shirt up for more skin contact. This was just past where they had been in the console room. 

He pulled back a bit to start kissing down her neck, then hitched her up so that she was off the floor and he could reach better. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he was pressing just there. They both let out a groan, and their lips locked again, hands roaming. 

She moaned when he reached her breast and breathed out, “Doctor.” He let out a little growl and ground against her while pinching her nipple.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, face flushed, hair tousled, lips swollen. He was breathing hard and had a wild look in his eyes. God, how could a man's hair look even more sexy when it was messed up that badly?

Then he froze, put his forehead to her and said, “I'm sorry.” He put her back down on the ground, and pulled back. 

“Wh-What?” she stammered. “Did I-”

“Oh, no, no, nothing you've done! It's me, it's totally, completely, wholly, entirely, altogether, _Me_. You're nearly having a breakdown, and I'm about to take you against a bloody _wall_ , like a randy _teenager_ ,” he said, disgusted. “I have _Plans_.” She could practically hear the capital 'P.' 

“I'm not, exactly, complaining here,” she said, baffled, “was rather enjoying myself, actually.”

“You deserve more, a lot more than a quick rut up against a wall.” He was turned away from her now.

Rose smiled and teased, “What if I want a quick rut against a wall?”

He looked at her then, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. “Well, then, later, we'll have one, but right now, right now, I'd be taking advantage of you.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, head in his hands.

She opened her mouth to tell him otherwise, but he cut her off with, “I'd at least feel like I was.”

She had nothing to say to that, so she went around to the other side of the bed and started pulling the covers back.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I'm going back to bed,” she told him, then asked, “Is that offer of a nightmare chase away-er person still valid?” She then got into bed, pulled the covers up under her arms, and patted the bed next to her. 

The Doctor looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment, then he slipped off his shoes and climbed in with her. Rose curled up with him, head on his chest. They were both asleep quickly. 

XxXxXxXx

Two hours later, the Doctor was walking through the corridors, when he came across Rose's door, once again cracked open. He looked in, and saw both his double, and Rose laying there curled around one another in a tangle of limbs. He watched them for a moment, soft look on his face, then he stepped back and closed the door.


	17. A Peek At The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the Tyler home, the Doctors and Rose come across something from happier days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and I had a fight. Jury is still out on who won.

The Doctor was suddenly awake, though not quite aware yet. The unwelcome confusion that filled his mind slowly dissipated as he took in his surroundings. He realized he was laying in Rose's bed, wrapped around her, holding her like she was a teddy bear. Her head was pillowed on his arm, which had started to go numb. 

He slowly moved his arm out from under her, trying to keep her from waking up. He liked his arm, he needed his arm, which included the one part of himself that was still all Gallifreyan. When his arm was free, he moved his wrist around, trying to shake off the pins and needles feeling. This wrist that had a slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle, something his other self no longer had. 

Rose moaned and wiggled, right against his hips. He scooted back a little. That was something he did not need her doing right now. He started counting to one million via happy primes. He thought of Jack, who had given him a bit of advice when they had seen him a couple of days ago. The man could be very helpful, even if his advice did come with laced with innuendo. Suddenly, he decided they should go visit Rose's family. That thought took care of the issue. 

He watched Rose sleeping, her face calm, but her eyes moving under her closed eyelids. He thought about the events of the night before, the things he had learned. No one should ever have to make a choice like that. Why did the bad guys never listen? 

The more he learned about her time over there, the more he hated himself for not doing more to try to get her back. Her time away was her crucible. They said that what didn't kill you made you stronger, but really, were three types of people to come out of such a thing. Those who break under the weight, those who are stronger for it, and those who wind up not being able to escape the pain. 

He still didn't know what type he was.

Her breathing changed, she was waking up. A moment later, her eyes started to open, and she rolled onto her back. When she saw him, she froze, a confused look on her face, which quickly cleared to be replaced by a small smile. 

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

“Morning, Doctor.” She lifted her head and looked around, getting her bearings before she got up. She went to her wardrobe, looking for an outfit to wear for that day.

He got up out of the bed and looked for his jacket. “So, sleep well?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. Thanks. And you?”

“Like a new human,” he replied with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, wittle bebe Doctah.”

“Oi, I'll have you know, that I'm also well north of a thousand!”

She stopped looking through her wardrobe and looked over at him with wide eyes. “Has it been that long since...”

“Oh, no, no it hasn't, just a couple years. Um, when I said 900, I meant 900ish years I've been roaming the universe. I just, um, didn't correct you, before.”

“You lied about your age. The big, bad Time Lord lies about his age to make him sound younger!” She was laughing. “Just how old are you?”

“It's not-it's not to sound younger,” he said indignantly. “And I don't really know, 1100, 1200? You know how things are in this life, I had lost track of how old I was back, oh, my third life I believe it was?” 

She shook her head and went into her en-suite, but left the door open, indicating that they could still talk. He saw his jacket over by the door and picked it up, wondering how it got all the way over there.

He then went over to the open doorway and said, “I finished looking at the results of your scans. Went over them several times to be sure.”

She froze and looked at him, toothbrush in her mouth. He tapped his head, and she rolled her eyes, then resumed brushing. He had been trying to teach her how to converse telepathically and normally at the same time, so that they could tell each other things silently without others noticing. He'd make her practice at various times that she thought was random, but really, he chose moments when they were under stress, or when she'd have a harder time doing it.

 _“So, what did the results say?”_ he heard in that dual-layered voice her mind had when she was speaking to him telepathically.

“I can't be absolutely for sure about this. Not until I run tests with actual samples, anyway, but it looks like you've got a stronger muscles and bone density. The scans from the bruise suggest a longer life span, like we suspected. Do you have any idea what happened? How this came to be?” He had an idea, but he wanted to hear her thoughts on the matter. 

She looked over at him, eyes wide. She pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth, and he warned, “In your head.”

She groaned and resumed brushing. _“Right. Anyone ever tell you you're a slave driver when it comes to teaching?”_

“You, every time I push you. That's what you get for asking the best to be your teacher.”

An eye roll. _“You think you're so impressive.”_

“I am so impressive.”

 _“Sure you are. So, stronger muscles and bones? The muscles could just be from the intense training I’ve put myself through?”_ She was rinsing. _“Dunno about the bones, though.”_ She finished. “That is weird. Do you have any ideas? Wait, it's you, of course you have an idea,” she said out loud.

He wondered if she knew about the lingering traces of Time that he saw in her the night before. “That was supposed to be in your head,” he admonished her wagging a finger at her. “It's more than training. I'm not certain, but I think it may have something to do with your time as Bad Wolf.”

Her response was immediate, she squeezed her eyes shut, put her hands against the edge of the sink, and leaned onto it, with her head down. She let a deep breath out. “I knew it. It had to be. What made you think that?”

“It's the only thing I can think of. Last night, when I woke you up, there was a bit of gold in your eyes. I just can't believe I never did any scans or anything right after it happened.”

She opened her mouth, but her interrupted her, “In your head.”

_“Well, things were chaotic afterward.”_

“It's no excuse, you could have been in serious trouble.”

_“I'll give ya that, then.”_

That surprised him. “I was expecting something along the lines of, 'But I'm fine,' coming from you.”

_“Well, I am, but if I don't give you what was actually in your control, how can I expect you to believe me on the things I say you didn’t have control of ?”_

“Point to you,” he admitted.

 _“But I am fine, better than fine, I have to say.”_ She came over and kissed him quickly.

“Mmmm, minty.”

“Uch, morning breath,” she said out loud, then added, “Enough of the practice, now get out.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to shower and get dressed. Unless you wanna stay for the show?”

He tilted his head to the side and considered this. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he gave her a goofy grin. “Okay, out now,” she ordered him, turning him around and giving him a push out the door.

XxXxXxXx

Rose walked down the hall towards the galley, ready for breakfast and some tea. She found the Doctor wearing the brown suit in there, empty bowl sitting to the side, nursing a cup of tea. He looked thoughtful. When she stepped in to the room, he looked up at her with a small smile and greeted her. “Hello sleepy head.”

“Hello Doctor.” She poured some water and made herself some of the banana tea that had been ready to pick a few days before. The full Time Lord Doctor had been growing it outside of the TARDIS and had worked on it while the other two slept. 

“I transplanted the rest of those tea plants.” he informed her, pointing at his cup. “They're in the tropical garden.”

“Oh, you should have let us help,” she told him. 

“Nah, gotta have something to do while you humans sleep-”

“Our lives away, yeah.” She finished making her tea and her oatmeal and sat down at the table. “So, what are the plans for today?” she asked.

“I was thinking-”

“Uh, oh,” she teased.

“Oi! I'm brilliant at thought, have a giant brain to prove it!” He tried to give her a stern look, but utterly failed. “Anyway, what I was saying before you so rudely interrupted,” she had a grin on her face now, “is that we could go see your family today.”

“Are you sick or something?” She joked, coming over and putting her hand on his head. “Maybe you should get some rest. There's no way you'd suggest time near my mother if you were in your right mind.”

“Actually, I'm keen on properly meeting this brother of yours. Only time I have ever met him, he was sleepy and we had other things on our minds.”

“I think you'd like him, he's got a lot of the same interests as you,” she teased.

“What exactly are you implying?”

She just grinned.

“Anyway, it's been almost 2 weeks for you, and I thought you'd might like to see them,” he said. 

Just then, the part human Doctor walked in and grabbed a banana. The two Doctors shared a look that didn't escape Rose's notice. She put her head in her hands, turned it just enough to look at the part human Doctor, who was still working on his banana, and accused, “You told 'im didn't ya?”

“Yes, yes I did.”

She took a deep breath and looked over at the Doctor who was sitting with her. He had a sad look and reached out for her hand. When he grabbed it, he gave it a reassuring squeeze and said, “I can't say I like it, but I understand. And we're here for you.” 

“I'm fine, actually.” He gave her a look that said he knew better. “No, really, I am, what I'm struggling with is how fine I am with it.” She took a deep breath and went on, “I feel like I should be-” she was interrupted by her phone ringing shrilly. She picked it up and looked at the screen. “Speak of the Devil-”

“Don't tell the Devil you got married,” the brown suited Doctor mock whispered, his tone bordering on begging. “I rather like this face.” 

She couldn't help but smile. “Dinnit tell her about the other twenty-two times, did I?” she snorted and rolled her eyes. “Or the caveman,” she added. Rose answered the phone, putting it on speakerphone so she could drink her tea and not let go of the Doctor's hand. “You have reached the phone of Rose Tyler. Miss Tyler is currently unable to take your phone call, due to running from....space chimps.”

That earned her a snort from the brown suited Doctor, and a chuckle from the human one. 

_“Space chimps? Really Rose, that's what you come up with?”_ said her mother's voice. _“Wait, you haven’t been runnin' from space chimps, 'ave ya? 'Cause that's just madness.”_

Both Doctors rolled their eyes.

“Well, I was trying to get a laugh, ha ha, funny. How's Italy treating ya?” The Doctor let go of her hand and went back to his tea. 

_“It's lovely, so much to do.”_ She heard her mother admonish Tony for getting in the refrigerator on his own, then she came back and asked, _“Was wonderin' if you'd be 'ere for dinner tonight.”_

She told her mother that, “Actually, we were planning on putting in an appearance anyway. Date and time?” 

_“July 27th, 2012, we're havin' dinner at about 6:30.”_

“We'll be there, well, we'll try to get there, you know how it is.”

_“Okay, I've gotta go, got to hit the grocer. Luv ya.”_

“Love ya too, Mum.” She hung up.

“Lovely. Dinner with your mum,” the Doctor with two hearts said. 

Rose called him out. “Oh, you love 'er. It's not like she's a Dalek.”

The Doctor in blue laughed, and the Doctor in brown muttered, “Rather face the Dalek.”

She slapped his hand. “Be nice,” she chided, but she was laughing too. 

The other Doctor then spoke up, “July 27th, 2012 why does that ring a bell?”

XxXxXxXx

A few hours later, Rose and the Doctors stepped out of the TARDIS into the new Tyler living room, where Jackie was sitting, watching the TV. 

"You lot could park outside like normal people," she told them. "Oh, hell. Look who I'm talking to."

“Hi, Mum, where's Tony and Dad?”

“Pete's puttin' dinner in the oven, and Tony's-” 

She was interrupted suddenly by Tony yelling, “Wose!” and barreling into her, almost knocking her over. “Wose, guess what?” Then, not even giving Rose time to reply, he said. “London's havin' da 'Lympics.” 

Rose looked at the clock, then over at the Doctors. 

“Well, I guess now we know why that date struck a chord,” the Doctor in blue remarked.

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.

“We're here on Earth today, in London.” The Time Lord Doctor explained. 

“Is that going to be a problem?” Jackie asked. Rose had explained time lines and the problems that could arise with the same person being in the same time twice. 

“Nah,” both Doctors said. 

“We were in London the whole time, as long as we don't interfere in the events of today, there will be no time line crossing,” the part human Doctor reassured her. 

Pete came out of the kitchen, holding a tray full of tea, with one juice box on it. “Hi, Heard you coming in, figured I'd make us all a cuppa.” 

Tony, who was getting tired of being ignored, pulled on the brown striped trousers of the Doctor, who then crouched down to Tony's height and said, “hello, Tony Tyler, it's nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor.” He then pulled a toy that he had found in the galaxy UGC 1813 out of the pocket of his coat and gave it to Tony. It was a miniature Silia'anari sailing vessel, which looked much like an Ancient Egyptian boat. It even had little moving oars that moved in sync. He told the ginger boy about the boat and showed him how to work the oars. In no time, Tony had the Doctor wrapped around his little finger. 

The part human Doctor was talking to Pete about what he was tinkering with now.

Rose was talking to her mother, who kept sneaking glances at the Time Lord and her son. “Look at that,” she said. “He's gone domestic.”

Just then, Tony loudly asked, “Doctah, are you Wose's space boyfriend?”

Rose choked on her tea, some of it going up her nose. 

Her Mum and the Doctor wearing the blue suit both bust out laughing.

The fully Time Lord Doctor sputtered for a moment, turning red.

Pete groaned and said, “Anthony, what have we said about repeating gossip.”

“Sowwy Dad.” 

“Time out.” Tony stomped off down the hallway.

“Who's he repeating from?” the Doctor asked, his voice a bit squeaky.

“God, I wish he had never met Owen,” Rose groaned.

“And, who's this 'Owen'?” the Doctor questioned, jealousy overcoming his embarrassment.

“One of the people who knew who Rose really was,” Pete replied. “He was one of the medics who'd work on Rose when she'd get injured.” He saw Rose trying to get his attention and get him to stop. Thankfully, he didn't say more, but he was giving Rose an odd look when the Doctor turned back to her. The part human Doctor had seen the whole exchange. Her mum, who had made sure Tony went to his time out and then check on the food didn't see anything.

“He was there for the coma I told you about,” Rose told him in explanation. “He, um, well, he was a bit of a prat, more than a bit, really, but really good at medicine. He was just pissed that I wouldn't-” She waved her hand around, then bit her thumbnail.

Jackie came back in and Rose, who was eager to get off of the subject, asked her, “Been learnin' any Italian, Mum?”

“A little bit,” she replied. “Mostly food names so far.”

The telly then captured their attention. _“The crowd has vanished! Er, they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone. Right in front of my eyes. It's impossible. Bob, can we join you in the box? Bob? Not you too, Bob?”_

“I don't remember this part,” the Doctor in blue commented.

“You were gone by then. I had just found the pod and was trying to convince the Isolus to let everyone go and get in it.” 

“Ah, thought so.” 

Jackie Tyler looks at the three of them with an incredulous look on her face. “You can't just go anywhere to just go, can ya?”

“Well, we did just go there to go to the games, but came across a case where three children were missing on one street within a week, if it helps any,” the Doctor in brown told Jackie, looking a lot like a ten year old caught being bad.

“And we did go to the games,” Rose added.

“Mmmm, those brilliant edible ball bearings,” the Doctor in blue remembered.

Rose and the other Doctor laughed.

“Ninety three thousand people have just disappeared, and you're all laughing about edibles?” Jackie wondered, aghast.

“Relax, Mum, They'll all be back in, oh two minutes? Just watch.”

“So, this is what you get up to, huh?” Pete asked.

“Yep,” Rose and both Doctors said, popping the 'p.'

“Okay, then.”

On the telly, they saw the Olympic torch bearer going down the street. Suddenly, off to the side, Rose popped up next to the fence. 

“Oh, hey! You made it to the telly!” she heard in stereo. The Rose on the television was seen yelling at a policeman, causing the Doctors to both laugh, then she disappeared back into the crowd.

“Yeah, that's Rose through and through,” Pete said, shaking his head.

A moment later, the torch flared up, and the runner stumbled. 

“And everyone just came back,” Rose smugly told everyone. 

The fully Time Lord Doctor went and sat on the couch. Rose went over to him and sat down next to him. The others were standing in front of them, glued to the screen.

“Those were the days,” the Doctor said in a low voice. “Weren't they?”

“Who says those days are gone?” Rose countered.

“It's not so simple anymore, Rose.” 

“It's never been simple, but it's never been as complicated as you make it out to be.” She then turned so that she was sitting sideways on the couch, one leg under her. “There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold,” she quoted him, then held out her hand, like she had done so long ago. This time, she really did mean to hold his hand. She wasn't just pointing. He looked at it, then looked at her and swallowed. He then put his hand into hers. She gave him a small smile and sat back on the couch, head leaning against his shoulder.

She looked at the other Doctor, who was watching them. She knew that he had heard the exchange with his Time Lord hearing. He gave her a warm smile and a wink before turning back to the telly. 

“Just look at this! Utterly incredibly scenes at the Olympic stadium. Eighty thousand athletes and spectators. They disappeared, they've come back! They've returned. They've reappeared. It's quite incredible. Bob, this will certainly-”

“Ooh, watch this!” Rose enthused. 

_“But hang on, the Torch Bearer seems to be in a bit of trouble. We did see a flash of lightning earlier that seemed to strike him. Maybe he's injured. He's definitely in trouble. Does this mean that the Olympic dream is dead?”_ Just then, the Doctor appeared on the screen, picked up the torch, and ran with it. They watched him run up and light the fire.

Rose's Mum then left the room, muttering about goofy aliens. A minute later, she proclaimed dinner to be done. 

At dinner, they told stories about the things they had done recently. The Doctor in blue told about the concert, and the market on Trilaxia Three. The one in brown told about the failed trip to the beach and the subsequent trip to Hawaii. Rose told about the interstitial transposition vehicle and the 16 year old would be queen.

Jackie kept dropping what she thought to be subtle hints about Rose having kids. Until finally, Rose finally told her to, “Stop it.”

After dinner, the part Time Lord Doctor and Rose both played with Tony. They engaged in an epic sword fight, which Tony won by stabbing the Doctor and Rose with his foam sword. 

When her mother went to take Tony to bed, her parallel Dad asked, “So, what really happened on the vehicle and with the queen?” At the Doctor's looks, he said, “I've seen enough of Rose's mission reports, and enough of her edited accounts of the same events to her mother at dinner to have a pretty good idea of what is being left out.”

We can talk to him about anything,” Rose told them, then looked over the two Time Lords, “Well almost anything.”

So they told him a couple of the bits they had left out in low voices, making sure that Jackie wasn't on her way back.

Jackie came back and asked Rose to come read a story to Tony. Rose assented and read _The Little Red Hen._

After the story, Rose left the boy, who was almost asleep. When she stepped back into the hallway, Pete came up behind her and asked in a low voice, 'why are you keeping it from them?”

“The part human one, who has a human lifespan, by the way, knows, but the other one doesn't,” she told him. “The other one will learn when he's ready.”

“And you don't think he's ready,” Pete finished, nodding.

“Yes,” she sighed, then added, “Thank you, Dad. I swear, you're the only one who understood me.” She hugged him. 

They went back to the living room, where Jackie was nattering on about things she saw in town. Both Doctors looked to Rose with identical 'save me' faces. 

Rose faked a yawn. Well, Mum, we've been up and about for a while, and I should probably get some sleep.”

As predicted, Jackie started yawning too. “yeah, it's a bit on the late side, ain't it.” She looked back and forth between Rose and the Doctors and commanded, “no getting killed, no getting severely injured, no getting turned into stone, or other things, and no space chimps, you hear me?”

“Yes, mum, I promise to stay away from all space chimps,” Rose said, deadpan.

XxXxXxXx

While the Doctors were piloting the TARDIS into the Vortex, Rose sat on the jump seat, fiddling in her jacket pockets, looking for something. 

The part human Doctor looked at his counterpart. _“Good choice,”_ he congratulated him.

_“What was?”_

_“Taking her hand back there,”_ he told his counterpart.

 _“What else was I going to do?”_ the full Time Lord said, then, _“she has good recall.”_

_“Well, her memories would have been all she had, except for a few pictures on her phone.”_

_“True.”_

_“You should take her somewhere, just you and her.”_ His other self looked at him like he was bananas. _“I'm serious, take her somewhere nice. Try at night, where you can look up at the stars.”_

The other Doctor thought for a moment, then, _“what you told me this morning, was that her secret?”_

 _“No, that wasn't a secret, just a memory she avoids thinking about, the secret is hers and hers alone to tell you.”_ He decided to drop a hint. _“You will learn it when you show her you are ready.”_

Rose had given up on finding whatever she was looking for in her jacket and said, “back in a tick.”

When she left, the full Time Lord Doctor watched her leave the room. The part human Doctor watched him watching her. “You're ready, or close to it,” he assured him. 

When Rose came back, The Doctor asked her, “Ready for a trip?”

A/N: look up UGC 1813 in images- it's the stem of the Rose Galaxies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: everything you recognize belongs to the BBC. Not to me, unfortunately. All I have is a lot of audiobooks.
> 
> A/N: look up UGC 1813 in images- it's the stem of the Rose Galaxies.


	18. Whisterian

Chapter 18: Whisterian 

Rose had needed to brush her hair after playing with Tony. She was digging in her jacket. She was sure she'd put that little hair brush in here somewhere, but she couldn't find it. 

“Back in a tick,” she called out to the Doctors, then headed to her room. 

A few minutes later, she went back to the console room, wondering what they'd do next. It might have been late for her brother, but she'd only been up about 8 hours, and she still had a good adventure in her. 

When she made her appearance in the console room, she noticed that the human Doctor was looking smug, and the Time Lord was looking a little afraid. What had happened in the moments she'd been gone? Come to think of it, they'd been a bit quiet while she was looking through her jacket.

They both noticed her return at the same time. “Ready for a trip?” the Doctor in brown asked.

“Always.” she replied.

He went over to the monitor and set some coordinates. Then both Doctors flew the TARDIS out of the vortex and landed her with a bump. 

“You two have fun,” the newer Doctor called out, heading deeper into the ship.

“What, you're not comin'?” Rose asked him.

“Nah, I've got a thing I'm working on. And I just had a epiphany about my thing, so I'd better get to work on my thing before I forget it and things happen.”

Rose wasn't buying it. Obviously, he needed some time alone. “Okay, then, I'll leave you to your...thing.” The Doctor then grinned and walked out.

“Might wanna bring your jacket,” the Doctor left with her advised. He then stepped out of the door of the TARDIS, blocking most of the view from her, and held out a hand for Rose to take. She grabbed it, and he gently pulled her through the door.

Once outside, she looked around in wonder. The place was beautiful. They were at the edge of a field of purple grass. The trees ringing it were enormous, with royal purple leaves and pink tendrils. Rose looked closer at a tendril, and found that each one was a stem with hundreds of tiny flowers on it. 

“We're in the galaxy M87, but only about forty-five hundred years past your time, and this-” He paused for dramatic effect. “Is Whisterian. Well, It'll be named that when humans discover it in twenty-five hundred years.”

“It's beautiful,” Rose breathed out. “And very purple. This planet's form of chlorophyll bounces back purple, doesn't it?”

The look he gave her could only be called pride. “Right you are!” He then pulled her through the edge of the treeline and down a trail in the woods that ran along a stream. They followed the stream for a minute until they came to a waterfall. The trail they had been following went down the cliff side to a pool below. The trek from the TARDIS to the pool took only about fifteen minutes. Minutes that Rose hadn't noticed while she was enjoying the scenery and the Doctor talked about various wildlife they had seen along the way. 

When they got to the pool below, Rose looked up at the waterfall. It was a short fall. Smoothed down rocks jutted out of it, breaking up the water flow and adding to the beauty. The water had a light greenish tint to it, adding to the exotic look. 

“One day,” the Doctor lectured, breaking Rose out of her reverie. “There will be an earthquake, and this landscape will change. The cliff will wind up six times higher, and the pool will wind up three times larger. This place is a religious spot for the natives. It's believed that their god of death and the goddess of life fell in love in this spot, ending the war between the two and harmonizing the cycle of life.” 

“A beautiful explanation for life and death,” Rose commented.

“Yeah, it is isn't it? What I really wanted to show you will happen any minute, when the sun goes down enough to start the process.” He took off his coat and laid it out, then sat on it and gestured for Rose to do the same. 

“We won't get in any trouble with the natives for being in a religious spot, will we?” Rose asked, having just remembered the last time they were in such a place. She was too content at the moment to want to run for her life.

“Nah, this spot is open to any who come to seek peace.”

“It's a very Zen spot, I'll give it that,” she praised.

Their surroundings were getting darker, then the tiny flowers that were everywhere started glowing softly. The glow spread from one side of their view to the other as the last bits of sun left. The water also had a glow to it, a very light greenish glow that made it look like absinthe. Rose was in awe. She had never seen anything quite like this, except as a concept in a movie. It was much more beautiful as a real thing. She noted how the darkness interacted with, complimented, shaped, and revealed the light, and she thought it was a perfect metaphor for her life. 

The Doctor gave a little laugh next to her. “I thought you might like it. The flowers, some of the vines, some of the fish, and the water all have bio-luminescent qualities.” he explained. Just then, a fish came up close to the surface, glowing slightly bluish in the green water. “You can only see the glow of the water in areas where the water is deeper, though. You probably wouldn't see it in the stream above. The Whisterian people go out both at night and in the day. The glow helps them see.”

He then looked around, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. “I know it's been a few centuries since I've been here, both as the chronometer flies and in my own time line, but I could have sworn it was brighter.”

He laid back on his coat, and Rose joined him, looking up at the night sky. They watched the stars get brighter and brighter, until Rose realized what she was looking at. “It's the galaxy,” she said in wonder.

“Yeah, just like your own Mutter's Spiral, Um Milky Way, can be seen in the night sky as a strip from Earth, bits of M87 can be seen from here.”

“Mutter's spiral?” Rose wondered, having never heard that name for her home galaxy before.

“Gallifreyan name for what humans of your time know as the Milky Way,” he replied, looking over at her. He then rolled over on his side, hand propping up his head, looking at her. He reached over and brushed some hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment, before he slowly pulled back and laid back down looking at the stars again.

“This isn't easy,” he admitted to her. “This will never be easy. I still think you'd be better off leaving me. Everyone leaves in the end.” He then turned his head back toward Rose, who was on her side, watching him. “And that's okay. I take people out of their lives. They have plans, dreams, wants, family, and friends.” He turned his attention back to the sky. “Even the most adamant of them have wanted to go back to 'real life' eventually.” He looked back at Rose. “It's okay. That's what's supposed to happen,” he assured her.

Rose got up on her elbow, looking down at the Doctor. “Doctor,” she began. “I need you to know this, with absolute certainty. I'm not going to leave you.” She then put her free hand on his cheek. “I won't leave you unless you can tell me you don't want me here. I love you, you daft man.”

He sat up, cross legged, and rubbed his palms on his trousers, as if he were rubbing sweat off, if he got sweaty palms. More like he just needed something to occupy his hands. “I may look human, but I'm not.” He informed her, as if she could have missed that little detail.

“Wait, what?” she said in mock surprise. “You're not human? Oh that explains so much, like the two hearts, and the changing your body! How could I have not known?”

“I'm serious, Rose, I think you forget sometimes. You don't understand. Things are...different for me.” 

She sat up and looked him in the eye. “I don't forget it, not anymore, so explain it, so I can understand.”

“Time Lords didn't, we just didn't,” he began, “Lifespans as long as ours, the biological imperative was low. Add to that the genetic engineering, and natural biological reproduction was obsolete. Things like marriages had become more for political or legal gain than anything else. Most were arranged. I spent centuries trying to fit into- I spent centuries thinking this sort of thing was beneath me.”

“We don't have to-” Rose started.

“But I want to,” the Doctor cut her off, making her eyes go wide. “And as hard as I try, I can never really give you everything you deserve.”

“Doctor-”

“No, Rose, really. I don’t deserve you, not at all. I don't deserve to even be sitting here with you, much less all of the things I want from you. But I-I can’t let you go either. Not unless you ask me to, or to save you. Even then, Rose, I’ve been tempted before, I've almost let the world burn just so you were safe.” He shook his head and added, “A short lived human!”

“Yeah, but you haven't. That's the important thing. Isn't it up to me what you deserve from me?” Rose asked.

He gave a self depreciating chuckle, “Well, you're right. I suppose it is.” He then looked at her. “The hardest part of this is going to be watching you grow older. How do I do that?”

“Make the most of every single second, because the next one might not exist. And that goes for just about every being in the universe, including you, Time Lord.” She bumped his shoulder with her own.

He then turned and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you.”

Rose was confused. “For what?”

“For being here for me, for being stubborn. For...loving me enough to want all of me. For not letting me push you away, which is something I'm going to stop doing now, by the way.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “While you were gone, all I ever had was regrets. I'm done with the regrets.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Then pulled back and looked at her. “I don't want any regrets.” 

He leaned in again, kissing her more firmly this time, hand moving up to her neck, thumb caressing her jaw bone. She felt his tongue flick out against her lips and parted her lips. His tongue swiped hers, and she let out a little moan, which made him deepen the kiss even more. He laid her down on the coat, never moving his mouth from hers, his hand not being used to prop himself up moving from the side of her neck, to the front, then down between her breasts to the hem of her shirt, where he slid his hand under. His hand came to a rest on her side, touch firm so that he wouldn't tickle her. 

They heard a footstep and broke apart, looking up at the interloper, right into the point of a spear.


	19. Lu'Pa

They heard a footstep and broke apart, looking up at the interloper, right into the point of a spear. A spear that was pointed right at the Doctor's head. Rose let out a little growl that was part frustration, part warning to the man holding the spear to her Doctor. At that moment, had the Doctor looked at Rose, he might have seen very faint traces of Time in her eyes.

“Oh, come on,” he groaned. He stood up slowly and pulled Rose up off of the ground, keeping his arm around her waist when they were both on their feet.

They were surrounded by five men, who all looked like nothing other than humanoid wolves. Two of the wolf people were down on all fours. The other three were standing upright, spears trained on the Doctor and Rose. The spears were held in hands that looked like paws with extra long fingers. 

The Doctor gave his customary greeting. “Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose, and we were just here to see the sights.”

“You are not of this world,” said the leader, who had gray and brown fur covering his entire body. “You will come with us.” At a gesture, the two wolf people who had been on all fours stood up, one grabbing Rose's arm, the other grabbing the Doctor. 

“You don't have to be rough, you know,” complained the Doctor. “We'll come along without a fight.” At another gesture from the leader, the Doctor and Rose were let go, but the two men who had held them were still on guard.

“So, you lot are of the Lu'Pa?” he asked, bending over to pick his coat up off the ground. After giving it a quick brush, he donned it, with a little help from Rose when the second sleeve wouldn't cooperate. 

The leader replied in a clipped tone, “Yes, we are Lu'Pa. You, off worlder, have trespassed in the sacred shrine of the God and Goddess.”

“We're sorry,” Rose said, breaking her silence so far. “We were under the impression that the sacred shrine was open to all.”

All of their captors stopped and turned around to look at her. They then looked at one another. This could not be good. 

“It used to be,” the elder of the group told her. “But then, an off worlder sullied the sacred land, and the light flowers dimmed. Now, only pack may visit the shrine.”

“I knew it was dimmer, didn't I say so, Rose.”

“You're being rude, your supposed to say, 'sorry to hear,'” she chided.

“Oh, um, I'm sorry to hear that,” the Doctor said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

The Lu'Pa were still paying Rose an exorbitant amount of attention, and the Doctor almost none. This caused the Doctor to pull Rose closer to him. 

“We're just travelers,” Rose tried to explain. “We'd never dream of...sullying a place.” Rose tried to assure them that they wouldn't do anything to the beautiful place they were in. She hoped that their culture wouldn't think that the two of them snogging was considered sullying the land. But you never could tell when it came to religions. It could go either way. “We dinnit, did we?”

“That remains to be seen,' the leader said, in a no nonsense tone. 

They walked for five minutes, into a clearing where most of the buildings looked to be made of mud and were shaped like large, earthen igloos. Larger buildings were in a thatch and log type of construction. The Doctor and Rose were led to the largest building. Once inside, the group stopped at the open door to a small room, what was obviously a kind of cell. 

“Step in,” the Lu'Pa who had done all of the talking so far commanded. The Doctor complied, stepping into the tiny, windowless room. He turned around, expecting Rose to come in behind him, but the Lu'Pa closed the cell's door before she could step inside the cell as well.

“Rose?” he called out, followed by, “If you do anything to her...”

“She will come to no harm,” the leader of the group informed him.

Rose knew that this was true, though how she knew, well, she had no clue. She had felt safe since the first time the Elder wolf man had spoken to her. She wondered whether he was using some kind of mind trick on her, to make her more docile. After a moment's thought though, she decided that if she was able to question it this much, she probably wasn't under any kind of mesmeric influence. She then remembered that she was wearing the piece of blue Metebelis crystal that the part human Doctor had given her, and that she probably wasn't all that susceptible to hypnotic influences anyhow, at least ones where she'd think she was in control. 

“It's okay, Doctor, I can take care of myself if I need to, but I don't think they mean us any harm,” she said, trying to calm the Storm that she could practically feel brewing on the other side of the door.

“Be careful, Rose,” he warned.

“I will.”

The other Lu'Pa had left while they were talking, leaving Rose alone with the elder who had done all of the talking so far. The man was clearly an Alpha, or other high ranking member of his pack. A woman came in who had grey and black hair over her body. This woman looked like she might be around the same age as the man who Rose had been speaking with.

“My name is Salaha,” she told Rose in a friendly voice. “The man whom you have been speaking with is my Alpha, his name is Rume. May I ask your name?”

“Rose,” she replied.

The woman got right down to business. “Tell me, Rose, how does an off worlder with little hair have the mark of Lu'Pa on her soul?”

Another memory came to her mind. _“...Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too. The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you. You burnt like the sun...”_ Would all wolf like sentient species feel whatever she was? She had been drawn to the werewolf in Scotland, (okay 'Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform,' sod it, it was a werewolf) just like she had been drawn to these people. 

“I have a wolf within me. She is used only in times of need.” She hoped that would be enough for them, that they wouldn't press farther. Not because she didn't want to give them answers, but because she didn't know what to say. She didn't understand it.

Thankfully, it was enough for them. Their senses told them enough.

“She is strong,” Salaha complimented.

“Thank you.”

“The man you are with, there is no Lu'Pa in him,” Rume stated. “How is it that you come to consort with him?” His tone held disapproval and sadness. Rose realized that he was worried about her, pack in his eyes. The position they were found in could suggest that the Doctor was dominate. 

“He saved my life,” she told the couple. “Then 'e loved me. Is this why he's locked up?” she asked. 

Rume nodded. “I had to be sure that you could talk of your own free will. Pack members have been taken by people who seek to control.” 

“'M under my own control. Thank you for your caution. May 'e be released now?” she asked. "Before he decides to come to my defense 'imself?".

“I'll go and get him,” Salaha told her. She then went off in the direction of the cell that the Doctor was being kept in. 

In the back of her mind, she felt the telepathic knock of the part human Doctor. _“Rose, is everything okay?”_ he asked. Even his telepathic voice sounded worried. 

_“Yeah, I'm fine, and he's being let go right now,”_ she assured him.

_“Good. I'm on my way, he gave me directions to where the two of you are.”_

_“Where are you?”_ she asked quickly. His reply was a picture, he hadn't reached the waterfall yet, but could see it.

 _“Don't come past the waterfall yet. Lemme get permission for you to come through.”_ Out loud, she told Rume that she and the Doctor were telepathic, and that the Doctor's brother was coming. She then asked him if his brother could pass through the sacred shrine on his way to the village. 

Permission was granted. _“Okay, you can come through without being captured.”_ She felt his acknowledgment. 

She asked, “You said an off worlder sullied the land. What 'appened?”

“The off worlder tried to use the falls for power, the machine he used put poison in the waters, which made the light flowers go dark. The poison was cleaned downstream, thanks to the floating plants there, but the cost to them was great, and the land up stream of the floating plants started dying,” Rume explained.

“I saw it just now, it's beautiful again.”

“Not as beautiful as it once was,” Salaha said, back with a scowling Doctor, who followed behind her. His face cleared when he saw that she was okay. “It has been a long process, but we believe that it will be only one more year before the light flowers are back at their full strength in the Shrine.”

“'M glad that the land is comin' back.” Rose said as the Doctor sat down in the chair next to her and grabbed her hand. 

“As are we,” Rume agreed. “This is why we were afraid of you and your mate.”

“I understand,” Rose told the elder Lu'Pa. She then turned to the Doctor and introduced the couple. “Doctor, this is Salaha and her Alpha, Rume.”

“We are the Alpha pair of the pack,” Salaha explained. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

“You were being protective, can't argue with that,” the Doctor assured her, in a jovial mood again.

“May I have a moment alone, to talk with my...mate?” Rose asked the pair, who assented and left.

As soon as they were alone, the Doctor and Rose hugged each other hello.

“How did you manage to get me out of there?” He asked. 

“Yeah, about that. There's something I need to tell you.”

XxXxXxXx

The Doctor stepped into the galley of the TARDIS to get himself a drink when the presence of his other self grew stronger in the back of his mind, trying to contact him. 

_“Having trouble?”_ he teased his other self, who then explained what happened. He told his other self that he was on his way.

He was following the path down to the waterfall, when he decided to try to contact Rose and make sure she was okay. He wasn't sure that they would be able to converse from so far away. They hadn't tried talking to each other from a distance yet. 

He was pleasantly surprised to find out that they could, almost as easily as he and his counterpart could. She had gotten permission from the Alpha of the pack for him to come through the area at the bottom of the falls. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it did help them with the natives.

11 minutes, 21.1 seconds after leaving the TARDIS, he stepped into the village, looking around for the biggest building. As he walked past the people of the Lu'Pa, they watched him suspiciously. It was no wonder, he stuck out among these hairy, wolf-like people like a sore thumb.

He stepped inside the building and was greeted by a grey and black female. “Hello, I'm Salaha, your brother is this way.” She led him to the room where Rose and his other self were. 

“How did you manage to get me out of there?” the other Doctor asked Rose as he walked in. 

“Yeah, about that. There's something I need to tell you.” She then noticed that he had come in. “Hey, you got here quicker than I expected,” she said.

“Yeah, I didn't stop to admire the bio-luminescent flowers,” he replied, then sat down across the table from the other two. He looked at his duplicate and chided him, “You can't even take her on a date without getting in trouble.”

“We were doing just fine,” he sniffed. “Like you could have done better.”

“I did-”

“You said you had something to tell me?” the other Doctor asked Rose, interrupting him.

“Finally,” he said, looking at Rose.

“I don't know how- oh, I've got it.” She turned in her chair, facing his other self, and put her hand on the side of his face, fingertips brushing his temples. He shuddered in pleasure. Realization hit him and he jerked back, eyes wide, his whole face in shock. 

His mouth opened and closed several times before he found his voice. It was comical, and he resisted the urge to tell his Time Lord self that he looked like a fish. 

“What?” He squeaked, then shook his head and asked, “How is this even possible?”

“I found out while over in Pete's World,” she told him. “As for the how...we think it has something to do with...Bad Wolf, which is why these people were looking at me odd.”

“But-but I took that out of you! It's why I look like this now!” the other Doctor exclaimed, pointing his finger at his face and waving it around.

“And how long do you think I held all that power?” Rose asked. “How long does it take inside the TARDIS to move from 2006 to 200100? How long was I actually on the GameStation? Now, how long did you hold that power? The same power that made you regenerate? That gave Jack immortality? Think about that and ask yourself if a human could survive that and have nothing change about them.”

The full Time Lord Doctor had paled while Rose was talking. “I never-” he started. “I never properly checked you over. I never even thought about it after-”

“Hey,” she interrupted. “It's okay. There was a lot going on then. Your regeneration, your coma, the Sycorax-” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “If anything bad was going to happen, we would have found out about it by then.”

“It's no excuse.” He closed his eyes and swallowed. When he opened his eyes, he looked at her with a happier expression and said, “So, you're telepathic! That's brilliant, and very useful. Brilliantly useful.” He then turned to his counterpart. “I take it you've been teaching her?”

“A bit,” he replied. “Mostly pushing her farther than what her previous teacher was capable of.”

“So, this was the big secret?” the brown suited Doctor asked.

“Well, it was part of it,” Rose nervously said, looking over at the blue suited Doctor, who reached across the table and grabbed her free hand. 

“What is it? What else changed?” He was worried now.

“I-I heal faster, a lot faster, my cellular regeneration rate is, well fast. I, um also seem to have a denser bone mass and stronger muscles.” 

He had wide eyes now, looking back and forth between the part human Doctor and Rose. “Just how fast do you heal?” he questioned. His voice had went a bit high.

“I had been stabbed before I found out about the healing, by a Haladana sword.” Both Doctors winced. Haladana swords were barbed. “In three days, you couldn't even tell I had been injured at all, except for the skin in the affected area being paler than the skin around it.”

“After Trilaxia Three, she had a bruise that should have taken three and a half weeks to heal on it's own. It was gone in just a couple of hours,” the human Doctor informed him. 

The Doctor then just stared at Rose, his expression cycling through various emotions. One could practically see the gears in his head turning. He knew what was going through his counterpart's head, the knowledge that Rose would most likely have an extremely long life. The guilt that she'd have to outlive almost everyone. The pain of knowing that he could have left them in another universe, and she'd have been alone in not very long, with her immortal friend and her semi-immortal love elsewhere. 

“Doctor, say something.”

“Rose, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm not sorry, not even the slightest.


	20. Howling At The Moons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of alcohol use

The Doctor was just staring at her, the expressions on his face changing. She could practically feel the metaphorical gears in his mind turning. 

“Doctor, say something.”

He put his head in his hands running his fingers through his hair, like he was prone to do in this incarnation. “Rose, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” 

She felt her heart stop, and all the color drain from her face. That was his 'I'm about to tell you that you're dying or something equally unpleasant and I can't save you' phrase. She looked over at his blue suited counterpart, who was looking back and forth between her and the Time Lord Doctor with an angry expression.

“Right,” she said, standing up. She didn't know where she was going, or if she was even going to go somewhere. She just needed to move.

However, before she could move from where she was, the Doctor grabbed her hands and looked up at her. At that moment, his eyes were showing every second of the centuries he had lived, all the people he had lost. He stood up and cupped her face with his free hand, thumb caressing her cheek.

“I'm sorry,” he repeated. “I never wanted any of this for you. I never wanted you to know that-”

“The thing is, Doctor, that it doesn't matter what you wanted,” Rose interrupted, in a colder voice than she intended as she pulled back from him. “This is what happened, and you can't change it. I wouldn't want you to, even if you could.”

“You say that now, but-”

“No 'buts', Doctor. There was a time where I saw _everything_ , you really think I didn't see this as a possibility? Have you even considered the possibility that maybe this was my choice?” He looked like he had been slapped, and she knew that he hadn't even thought of it. 

“Why would you choose this? Why would anyone? Rose, you're going to have to watch your whole family-” he exclaimed in a broken voice.

“Yeah, I know,” Rose interrupted. “They weren't supposed to come, but it was a lot better to have everyone over.”

He started pacing the room. “This is all my fault, if it weren't for me-”

“Then I wouldn't have ever existed,” she interrupted him. “Now enough of this self recrimination you make a hobby of. My choices are my own responsibility. Not yours,” she informed him, jabbing a finger into his chest. She then took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Look, I understand that this is a pretty big shock. I remember when I found out, those of us who knew about it were all shocked.”

He suddenly turned around and faced her again. “How long have you known?”

She leaned against the table staring him right in the eyes. “Since a week before Bad Wolf Bay.”

He froze, eyes wide. “You knew then?” he questioned. “Why didn't you tell me? If I knew...” 

“Don't,” she firmly told him. “That's why. 'M not worth risking multiple universes for.” 

He turned to his part human counterpart, who had been watching them silently this whole time. “Don't you have anything to say about this?”

“No, actually, I don't, we've already been through this. Now it's your turn. Get it out of your system. Much better to tackle the problem right here, right now, get it all sorted, move on to the next one that crops up. One day at a time, every little bit counts, don't make mountains out of what's actually molehills.” Rose raised her eyebrow in amusement at his antics. “...Welll, you get what I'm saying.”

“Believe me, I've had this on my mind for years. I've examined it from a lot of angles.”

The Doctor just looked at her for a moment, emotions warring on his face, ending with wonder. He came over and pulled her into a hug. “You impossible woman,” he said, rubbing her back softly. “Are you ever going to stop surprising me?”

“You daft man,” she countered. “Are you ever going to learn the meaning of the word 'impossible'?” She pulled back. 'Okay, that's it, I'm done with the angst right now. This was supposed to be a fun trip, and as long as the two of you can keep the rudeness to a minimum, it'll be a safe trip too-”

“Oi!” she heard in stereo.

“-And I'm going out for a walk, to see the village.”

“Okay,” said the part human Doctor. “We'll be out in a mo'.”

“What, wait, you're fine with her _wandering off_ here? That lot just-”

He was cut off by Rose's laughter. “'M fairly safe here, actually.” She then explained, “They look at me like I'm one of their own. And since you are with me, you'll be safe as well, but maybe regarded with a bit of suspicion.” She noticed the still wary look on the brown suited Doctor's face, so she turned to the part human and said, “if anything comes up, I know how to contact ya.”

The Doctor in the blue suit snapped off a lazy salute, which made her smile before she walked out of the room. 

XxXxXxXx

After Rose walked out, the part human Doctor rounded on his counterpart. Now that he could talk about everything, they were going to have one last discussion. 

XxXxXxXx

When Rose stepped outside, she saw Salaha settling a dispute with two younger Lu'Pa. When the other two left, Salaha noticed Rose. “So, how did your talk go?” she asked.

“Well, it could have gone better, I think,” she replied, scratching her head. “He drives me mad sometimes.”

Salaha laughed. “That's men for you, no matter where they are from.” She put her hand on Rose's shoulder, and said, “if you love him , though, the madness will be far outweighed by his other qualities.” She paused, looking over at Rume with a soft smile on her face. Rume was teaching a child how to make a spear point. “Take Rume, for example. We've been together for what seems like forever, and he has a habit of trying to make decisions without consulting me first. We've had many arguments over it. He's better now, but still does it every once in a while.” She sighed. “I wouldn't trade one moment of our time together, not for anything.”

Just then, Rume smashed his finger. He jumped up, waving his hand around, then sticking the finger in his mouth, making Salaha laugh and Rose shake her head at his antics.

Someone else, a black and brown female, came up to Salaha wanting input from her on that night's ceremony.

“Go on,” Rose told her. “'M just gonna go for a walk, if that's okay?”

“Sure, the entire pack already knows about you anyway. You have access to anything that any pack member would. And you are invited to tonight's ceremony as well.” She then ran off to take care of the issue at hand. 

Rose was touched, these people had really taken her in as one of her own. They seemed genuinely nice, and the place was beautiful. She put Whisterian in this time period down as one of her favorite places.

She walked around, admiring the various preparations taking place for the ceremony, helping a couple of times when someone needed an extra hand and she was able to. The people were friendly and very informative, though a few of the older ones were a bit guarded until they had interacted with her and sensed...whatever it was that they were all sensing about her. 

She saw the Doctors by the main building, looking around. They appeared to be in a serious discussion. She walked up to them and caught the words, “Great Big Intergalactic Idiot,” being said by one of them. Gee, she wondered who that was. 

They noticed her and stopped their discussion, greeting her with twin, “Hi!” dragging out the 'I.'

She regarded them both suspiciously for a moment, then told them. “We've been invited to a thing tonight. Some Summer thing having to do with both of the moons appearing in the sky at the same time.” 

“Sounds like fun,” the Time Lord Doctor said.

“Love festivals,” the part human exclaimed. “One thing you find on every planet where sentience develops, is that they all worship the seasons at one time or another-”

His lecture was cut off by a group of young women coming up to Rose. They dragged her away to get ready for the festival, and she went with them, laughing.

XxXxXxXx

“I wonder what people who wear no clothes do for a ceremony like this.” The Doctor wondered. 

“No, no, the question that needs to be asked is, 'What will a people who wear no clothes do with a girl who does for a ceremony such as this?' I can't wait to find out!” He grinned.

“Give you a bit of human DNA, and all you can think about is-”

“Oi!” he responded indignantly and sniffed. “That is not at all accurate. Can think about plenty. And don't try and tell me you don't have some interesting thoughts as well.” Then he admitted, “But it is one hell of a drive.”

23 minutes, 26 seconds later, a bonfire was lit, signaling the start of the ceremony. Everyone who was around went to it and stood nearby, outside of the double circle of logs that served as seating.

Both Doctors looked up at the sky, seeing the second moon come into view. It looked smaller than the first, though they knew that it was actually larger and much farther away.

The ceremony began, music started up from several of the people around the circle, drums, a whistling instrument, even an instrument that looked something like a harp, but twanged when played. 

The females who were dancing came into the circle from all directions, appearing out of the trees. Each one had some of the bio-luminescent flowers woven into their hair in intricate patterns, with some more wrapped around them in garlands. Then came Rose, and neither man could keep their eyes off of her. She had the flowers woven into her hair, and strands of them circling her waist, wrists, and ankles. The strand around her waist was also holding about a dozen strands flowing down so that they looked like a skirt. She still had her jeans on, but the flower garlands were arranged over her so as to cover everything a bikini top would cover. 

They danced into the space between the two rows of seating. The dancing being similar to all other native dances of this type. It was simple motion to the drum beat. Some of the males came in and danced with their mates. When the music was over, everyone who danced stopped in their place between the two rows of logs, turned and faced away from the bonfire arms stretched out to the sky, and let out a long, victorious howl.

The dancers then broke up, and the party began. Food brought out, a punch that smelled alcoholic was set out in a huge, wooden bowl.

Rose went to leave the circle immediately, and he decided to follow her. His two hearted self followed along as well. With their long legs, they caught up to her in no time. 

“Rose? You do realize that those flowers are an aphrodisiac, don't you?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I know” she said, breathlessly taking the lit up flower bracelets off. “Flowers placed at the spots where the blood runs closest to the skin, the dance gets your blood pumping, nature takes it's course. That's why 'm getting' 'em off as soon as possible.” She stopped and turned around, flush. “Well, that and I'm freezing now. I've just always wanted to do that.”

“Do what?” the Time Lord next to him asked.

She giggled. “Tribal dance around a bonfire!” She then spun around and went into the hut behind her. She came out two minutes, 32.3 seconds later. She was fully clothed and buttoning up her shirt, with her jacket over her arm. All of the flowers were gone except for what was in her hair. Her skin was still flush, but that was to be expected. 

“How do you feel?” the Doctor wearing the black trench coat asked, with some amusement. 

“A bit like I've had a couple of drinks,” she replied, putting on her leather jacket with the bigger on the inside pockets. "Nah, a few more than that." Then she looked back and forth between both of them. “Did you like the show?” she asked, flirtatiously. She got a small smile from the Doctor wearing all brown, and a grin and wink from the Doctor wearing the blue suit and black trench coat.

She kissed each one of them, gave them that tongue in tooth grin, then walked between them back to the bonfire, swaying her hips and looking back at both of them a couple of times. He knew exactly what she was doing, what she wanted, the little ravenous, voracious, tenacious wolf. 

They stayed at the party a bit longer. He had a few drinks of their wine, which left him feeling a bit warm. He noticed Rose had drank a little of it too. His other self had stayed away from the spirits, claiming that someone needed to keep their wits about them.

They took their leave when couple started disappearing left and right, the flowers and wine working on them.

On the way back, Rose held both of the Doctors' hands, talking about how much fun she had and how touched she was that they accepted her into the group. The oil from the flowers were still making their way through her system, and he knew that if she hadn't taken them off as soon as she had, and he had drank a bit more, the night could have ended up a lot more interesting. It still might be interesting. 

Of course, the morning could have also wound up a disaster if they both weren't in their right minds when they were together like that for the first time, and he was glad that both of them had stopped where they did.

When they got back to the TARDIS, he and Rose were knackered. The other Doctor wanted to run tests on Rose, to confirm what was going on with her, but said that it needed to wait until those, “bloody flowers,” his words, were out of her system.

Just before they went to go to bed, his counterpart told them, “Maybe it's not a good idea for you two to sleep together tonight, like last night. Both of you have been-”

This angered Rose, who interrupted him with, “No jealousy!”

“No, no, I'm not being jealous!” He tugged on his ear. “It's just that those flowers and the drink were both meant to, um, decrease inhibition, increase desire and...” he waved his hand around, looking like he was trying to find the right word, “...fertility. And, um, you've made it clear that you're not...”

“Yeah, there is that,” the part human Doctor agreed. 

“Oh, I get it,” Rose said. She came up to him and hugged him quickly, pulling away and giving him a soft kiss. “That's sweet. Don't worry about that, We both stopped before there should be any loss of control, but if you're really worried, you can come with us and play chaperone.” 

He opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say. She saw the tiredness in his eyes, then got serious. “Doctor, how long has it been since you've slept?”

“I'm fine, Rose,” he replied. 

“No, you're not. I can see it in your eyes, you've been avoiding sleep again. Come on, you can curl up with us, we'll all help each other get a decent rest.” She took his hand and pulled him gently. His eyes flicked over to his other self, who was standing there in the blue suit, trench coat having been shucked and thrown over a coral support. He was unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves. Noticing the look his last self was giving him, the human Doctor sent him approval. 

He didn't resist.


	21. Out Of Sync

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some swearing

Rose had just finished taking her shower and was drying her hair when she heard one of the Doctors come in her bedroom. She heard flop on the bed. It was like old times, she half expected him to be out there, fully clothed with his coat on, tapping his foot and being impatient to do something. She wondered idly which Doctor was out there, but then decided that it didn't matter, so long as that Time Lord got some sleep.

She still felt flushed. It had been a couple of hours since the flowers came off, shouldn't the effect be wearing off by now? She finished drying her hair and put her pajamas on, trying not to think about how nervous she was. Did she really just deliberately invite both of them into her bed at once? The image that popped into her mind was enticing. One in front of her, cupping a breast and kissing her, while the other was behind her, licking up her neck, a hand trailing down closer and closer to-

'Stop it', the logical part of her mind told the animalistic part. She stepped out of her en-suite, into her room, where she was greeted by an...interesting sight. He was on her bed, sitting up against the headboard, legs crossed at the ankles. He was in white with blue pinstriped pajamas, looking exactly like he had so long ago when he opened the double doors of the TARDIS and cheekily said, “did ya miss me?” For all she knew, they might have actually been the same pajamas.

She fought the impulse to go to her bed and climb up him.

He put a book down on the bed stand, and left his glasses on top, and she realized from the glasses that the man on her bed in his jim jams had two hearts.

Just after this realization, his counterpart walked in, wearing gray sweat pants and nothing else. Both men looked at each other, a look she couldn't decipher passing between them. Then the part human Doctor looked at Rose, and his smile became predatory. She couldn't help but sweep her eyes across his bare chest, down to the smattering of hair just above his waistband. He took note of the look she was giving him, and smirked. He came forward and put his hands on her waist, with his forehead against hers. They both then looked over at the man laying on the bed, who had been observing them.

“You know, those flowers were in everything we all ate and drank.” He got up off of the bed and continued, “It was just tiny bits, but I could taste the oil from the flowers in everything.”

“You ate a bit of everything,” Rose observed, pulling back from the shirtless Doctor.

“I did.” He nodded his head. He looked back and forth between his shirtless counterpart and Rose. She could see the gears turning in his mind.

“Out with it,” she commanded.

Looking down, he asked, “Have you two-?”

“No,” the part human replied, not letting him finish his thought.

He raised an eyebrow at them, surprised. “Why not?” he asked, truly confused.

Both of the people in the room with human DNA looked at him with an 'are you serious?' look.

“What?” A thought occurred to him. “You're not waiting on me, are you?”

The newer Doctor scoffed at that. “Did it look like we were waiting on you the other night? There's been no waiting, just interruptions and bad circumstances.”

“I thought about it,” Rose confessed, crossing her arms and not looking either one in the eye. “But I've learned that you never know what's going to happen, and life can be too damned short and 'm not wasting another moment waiting on anyone.”

The part human Doctor reached out to Rose, put his hand on the side of her face, and gave her a small smile. She leaned into it and returned his smile. She was surprised when she felt the Time Lord's hand slip into hers, fingers interlocking. She looked over to him and saw the sad look he was giving her.

Both men looked at each other for a moment, then the Time Lord let go of Rose's hand and flopped back to where he was before, picking up the book and his oh-so-sexy spectacles and putting the thick rimmed glasses on. “Story?” he asked. The sudden mood change made her want to scream.

Rose just smiled and stepped closer to the bed, asking, “What's the story?”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's about time we finished it, don't you think?”

“Yeah,” she breathed out. She nervously climbed into bed next to him, and the newer Doctor climbed in behind her with a yawn. They settled down, Rose listening to him reading the story, and making all of the voices, which really helped the story come alive. This was one of the pleasures that she terribly missed.

It wasn't long before the shirtless Doctor behind her was asleep, arm draped over her waist, one of his legs between hers. She was comfortable, with her head on the Time Lord's chest, listening to his double heartbeat and his voice, slowly drifting off to sleep.

When she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and said something in Gallifreyan. Then she knew no more.

XxXxXxXx  
_She was standing on a familiar beach that gave her the chills, wearing her blue jacket, staring at a square depression in the sand. The Doctor came up beside her, taking her hand. She looked over at him. He looked exactly the same, sounded exactly the same, but he was warmer, and he was wearing a blue suit that she had never seen before that day._

_They stood like that for a long time, when he finally said, “We really are the same, Rose.”_

_She yanked her hand out of his and took a step back. “I know, so how long will it be until you leave me too?”_

_XxXx_  
_“....because there are laws. There are Laws of Time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!....”_

_The Doctor was standing in the middle of chaos, water and fire everywhere. He was wearing the orange spacesuit they got from the Sanctuary base on Krop Tor. The glint of madness was in his eyes._

_“...And there's no one to stop you?”_

_“No”_

_“...I don't care who you are, the Time Lord Victorious is wrong.”_

XxXxXxXx

She woke up with a start, looking right into the same eyes she had just seen glinting with madness in her vision. Because that's what it was: a vision. It was a time line that would no longer happen. What would have happened if she hadn't gone back to her past self and gave herself the letter.

“Hey Rose, you're just having a bad dream.” He reached up and rubbed the line of tears from the corner of her eye with his thumb. “Mind telling me about it?”

She turned her head to look at the other Doctor, who was still deeply asleep, laying on his stomach, arms under his pillow. The Doctor noticed her look and said, “Come on, we'll go make a cuppa and let him sleep.”

She got out of bed and followed him to the galley, where he made some Darjeeling. Her head was pounding, and she rubbed her temples. He put her tea down in front of her and sat down next to her.

“Ta,” she thanked him, taking a sip.

“No problem,” he replied. He took a sip of his own and asked, “Same dream as the other night?”

“No, it wasn't a dream,” she told him, shaking her head.

“A memory, then?”

“Sort of.”

“Well, if it isn't a dream, and isn't a memory, then what was that?” His eyes narrowed, studying her.

“A vision,” she admitted. “Something that will no longer happen, not with the letter paradox.”

His eyes got a little wider, and he leaned forward. “You, you're...seeing time lines?”

“I'm not sure, I think it's memories of things I saw when I saw everything.” She closed her eyes and clenched her cup. “Whatever it is, I get an awful headache when it happens, though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be.” She took another sip.

He was still staring at her with wide eyes. Finally, he asked her, “What did you see?”

She ran her finger along the top edge of the cup, took a deep breath, and told him, “You went mad, you were on Mars. Some base with just a few people, and there was water and fire everywhere. You were yelling something about the Laws of Time, and how they'd obey you. You claimed to be Victorious, That was the new name you took.”

He had gone pale. “Bowie Base One,” he whispered.

Her head shot up, looking him in the eyes. Had she read the feel of the vision wrong? Was this something that had actually happened?

He saw the look she was giving him, and explained, “Bowie Base One, the first Martian colony. It's a fixed point in time. The entire crew died there. No one knows why. I don't see why I'd go there.”

She had a pretty good idea of why he would be there, remembering that he was on Krakatoa when it exploded, on the Titanic when it sank, both sea version and space version, and any number of places that were fixed points with a large loss of life after the War, but when she wasn't traveling with him. She remembered what the other Doctor said, “You'd have to be truly mad to mess with a fixed point in time.” In that time line, he had went mad.

“How's your head?” he asked her, remembering that she said that these visions gave her headaches.

“It's getting better already, thanks.”

Neither of them wanted to talk about the elephant in the room, but Rose knew that it would need to be addressed. To her surprise, however, the Doctor got to it first.

“I'm sorry, Rose, I'm sorry you ever had to see me like that. I-”

“If you say the word 'sorry' again, 'm gonna give you a smack,” she interrupted him in an irritated voice.

He just sat back and regarded her. She calmly took another sip. Suddenly, he asked, “How?”

“How what?”

“How do you do it? How do you...? How can you...? After all I've done, to you, to others in front of you, that you know about. You've seen me lose control. You've seen glimpses of what I'm capable of becoming, and you sit here, calmly drinking tea, no fear, no judgment, only irritation at my apologies.” His voice rose the whole time he was speaking.

“How can I not? You apologize too much. Shit happens, Doctor. Can't judge you for something you never really did and won't do, and can't blame you for things out of your control. I also have no fear of you, only for you. You're a good man, Doctor.”

“No, I'm not,” he denied, shaking his head.

“Yes, you are,” she reiterated.

“Good men don't need rules, I have so very many.”

“Good men have rules to help them stay good.”

“I break my rules.”

“Everyone has their moments.”

They had been replying rapidly back and forth. She had an answer for everything he said, and he had another statement as to why he wasn't good.

“I have an awful lot of moments.”

“You've had an awful lot of time to accumulate moments,” she told him, placing a hand on the side of his face.

“I'm a broken old man.”

“Mosaics are made of broken things, they're still beautiful. 'Sides, 'm a bit cracked up myself. What happened to not pushing me away?” She pulled her hand away from him and drank the last of her tea.

“I'm not pushing you away, I'm trying to show you reason.”

“Oh, now why would I want to see reason? That's so boring. Do you have to be so contrary?”

“Oh, but you still love me.”

She kissed him hard and quick. She pulled back and said, “Finally, you say something I agree with.” She then got up and took her mug to the sink, quickly washing it out.

He came up behind her and told her, “You should get some more rest, Rose.”

“How long was I asleep?” she queried, not feeling tired at all.

“5 hours, 34 minutes,” he replied.

“That's plenty. I'm good on 5 to 6 hours now, unless I've been up a really long time, or 'm particularly wore out.”

“So, no more sleeping half your life away?” he joked.

She rolled her eyes. “It was never half, more like a third, now it's only a quarter.”

“Is this just what you're used to, or do you really not need that much sleep?” he asked.

“I don't need it anymore,” she told him. “Took me a while to realize that I was actually sleeping too much.”

He grinned, and she knew he had some cheeky reply that he was about to pop off. She decided that he wasn't going to get it out.

“When I learned better, I suddenly had three more hours every day to work on whatever I needed to work on. Used most of the time on learning thing I needed to make my transport work. I read textbooks and papers on temporal physics, engineering, mathematics, and theoretical physics. If I had bothered, I’m sure I’d have PhDs in several sciences.”

All those hours of reading were worth it just to see the smile that spread across his face. It was a cross between pride, and incredibility.

He decided to test her. “Does the number zero count in determining whether a number is 'happy' or not?”

She thought for a moment. “No, except for in the case of a zero all by itself.”

He grinned and asked, “what's 78 times 45?”

She rolled her eyes. “Reading a bunch of books isn't Krillitane oil, Doctor. And 'm not some hyper-intelligent being. I've probably forgotten most of what I read.” This seemed to please him, judging by the goofy grin he gave her, probably because she had just practically called him a hyper-intelligent being.

“Goofball.” She laughed and changed the subject, “About how long until we can expect him to be in?”

“I expect him to wake in about a half hour. When he shows up is another story. I'll be back in a few moments, get outta these jim jams.”

She gathered up ingredients for breakfast for them. A basic fry up, nothing too special, or complicated. While she was working on it, the Doctor came back in, wearing his brown suit and cream Chucks, hair spiked back up, a dark blue oxford and a floral pattered tie. He saw what she was doing. “Are you sure about that?” he asked.

“What? Why? You want something else?” she asked.

“Oh, no, that's fine, it's just that your cooking generally defies the laws of physics. You'd have to be making an effort to be that bad,” he joked. “Which is something to be proud of,” he hurriedly added.

“I'm so gonna kill you,” she said.

“No, you won't, you like this me, and why wouldn't you, look at me.” He straightened his tie and have a haughty sniff. “Besides, you never know, my next self could be old, ugly, a prickly grouch, or even cheekier.”

She threw some potato at him. “I said 'kill,' not 'regenerate.'”

He grabbed his chest, one hand over each heart. “You hurt my hearts, Rose Tyler, you really do.”

About twenty minutes later, just a couple of minutes after Rose finished making everything, the other Doctor came shuffling in, looking just a bit like a zombie. “Morning,” she greeted him, brightly.

“Err. Morning.” he replied. “Breakfast.”

“It's brains,” both the properly dressed Doctor and Rose said together. They then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“You thought so too?” Rose asked.

“He even sounds like a movie zombie.”

The part human Doctor glared at the two of them. “How long have the two of you been up?” he asked.

“A while,” Rose answered. “Why?”

“You're awfully chipper.”

She held up her mug and explained, “Third cuppa.” He just glared at her and loaded up a plate.

When Rose was finished eating, she excused herself to go get dressed.

“Meet us in the infirmary when you're ready.” The Time Lord said.

She sighed. “Fine,” she said.

“What? You wouldn't let me do anything more than one scan!” the shirtless Doctor complained.

“I knew that when he found out, he'd want to do the whole workup, whether or not you already had. Didn't want to go through it twice, thank you much.” She gave him a quick kiss, then walked out of the room.

XxXxXxXx

After finishing his breakfast, the Doctor went back to his and his counterpart's room to get dressed, he went with the t shirt under his suit jacket again, a really dark blue this time.

He shaved and did his hair, which took a little longer now than it used to. The hair was thinner, microscopically, barely, minutely, hardly thinner, but it was enough to make it harder to manipulate.

When he was ready, he met his other self in the infirmary, and the two started getting the list of tests and scans they wanted to check together.

Rose came in, wearing comfortable black yoga pants and a yellow tank top, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. She wasn't wearing any jewelry, probably in anticipation of having to take it off. “Okay, let's get this over with,” she grumpily said.

They did various scans, took a saliva sample, and three tubes of blood. She was very cooperative with all of their questions and what they wanted her to do. He suspected that it was because she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

It was 44 minutes, 38 seconds after she hopped up on the table before they proclaimed her part finished. As soon as they did, she hopped down, and got out of there as soon as possible.

When she was gone, they poured over various scans while the various DNA tests were done.

Her scans showed her to be human, with denser muscles and bone, like the first set of scans had.

When they got to more in depth things, they started noticing oddities. When her cells divided, they didn't have the same minor mutations and tolomere shortening that humans usually did that caused them to age over time.

It was when they got to full gene sequencing that they started noticing several really off things. It led them to run one last test on the last bit of blood, with a temporally aligned scanner.

She had a third strand of genes that were temporally out of sync, and were slowly coming into sync with everything else. That's how they hadn't noticed anything before.

XxXxXxXx

She always hated tests, and left the infirmary as fast as she could, before they could decide that they wanted more of her. She knew that she needed to let them do this, or they'd worry forever about her. Plus, there was also the fact that she was extremely curious herself.

She knew that they'd be a while, running every conceivable test, even running some tests multiple times, and she would just be in the way, or poked and prodded more.

She ran her hand against the wall again, walking down the hall with her eyes closed, letting the ship take her somewhere where she could work out her frustration. She knew there were all sorts of rec rooms on the TARDIS, many of which she had never seen, and even multiples of some rooms. Why did he even need 7 squash courts?

When she was prodded to stop and open her eyes, she opened her eyes and opened the door that she found herself at.

At first, she thought she was in a room made for someone to practice gymnastics in, until she noticed the way the equipment was set up. There was an area where one could practice defense techniques, a large mat where one could practice floor exercises, the walls had handholds and rails of various kinds on them, and there was various gymnastics equipment and mats of all thicknesses all over the place that could be moved. Everything was new, and had a somewhat almost organic look to it.

She realized that this room was made for someone who could fight, do gymnastics, use a sword, and parkour. The TARDIS had made this room specifically for her. She went over to the coral wall, and patted it gently, sending her eternal gratitude to the sentient ship. She wondered how long it had taken her architectural reconfiguration center to make it, and if the Doctors knew about it.

The ship hummed at her, pleased that she loved it. Rose then got to work.


	22. TARDIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: swearing, smuttiness at the end. Note the rating change.

The Doctors looked for Rose. They started in her room, then went to all her usual haunts. When they couldn't find her, they decided to ask the ship for help.

The TARDIS led them to Rose. When they stepped inside the new room, they both immediately noticed that they had never seen this room before. It looked new, and was huge. It was full of various bits of equipment. There was a punching bag, bars everywhere, half walls of various sizes, mats, a trampoline, some chains, and ropes. There was a rack where a sword would sit, but no sword present. Music was playing _“...guessing at numbers and figures, pulling the puzzles apart, questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart, but tell me you love me, come back...”_

They looked around the room for Rose, but didn't see her at first. It wasn't until the part human Doctor looked up towards the ceiling that they saw her, in a recess at the top of one of the coral walls, just sitting there. How the hell did she get all the way up there?

She didn't know they were there yet. She looked like she was resting for a moment. Her skin showed a noticeable sheen, and a stray bang was stuck to her forehead.

She then stood up, toes curled over the edge of the recess. Another song started up and she started dancing a bit. _“...I must admit, I can't explain, any of these thoughts racing through my brain, it's true, baby, I'm howlin' for you...”_

Then she jumped, stopping all three hearts of the two men below, until she grabbed a bar that was hanging from the ceiling, but invisible from their position. She swung from it onto a catwalk and took off at a run, from there, she jumped to a wall that was a little lower, then hung off of the edge of it to get into a better position to hit a lower wall that was about three and a half meters from the ground. She ran across the lower wall, until she got to a couple of pillars, one lower than the other. There, she step-run-jumped across them until she got to the last one, which she jumped down from with a flip, right in front of them.

The flip landed wrong, and she fell on her arse. She got up quickly, before they got to her, brushing herself off. “Well, Tyler, great goin', that's what ya get for tryin' to show off, the flip wasn't necessary, but nooooo, you had to go and do the flip,” she grumbled to herself.

“You nearly gave me a hearts attack!” the part human Doctor chided her. “Er, heart attack. That's even worse. I've only got the one!”

“The TARDIS would have changed the gravity in here if it was needed,” the full Time Lord said calmly.

“I know your hearts stopped too,” he rebuked.

“Yeah, for half a second,” the Time Lord replied. “Anyone's would with that visual input. But unlike some people, I don't have the memory of a hamster.”

Before the part human could respond to that, Rose put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Both Doctors looked at her expectantly. “Now, be nice.” She shook her head. “I know you hate yourself, but this is a whole new level.”

“Shoulda been there in the times I've had to cross my own time line for some reason,” the part human quipped.

Rose ran her palm over her face and changed the subject to what they had obviously come for. “So, what did your myriad of tests say?”

“You're definitely going to live a long time.” The Doctor wearing brown told her, rubbing the back of his neck, uncomfortably.

“You may even outlive him,” The Doctor wearing blue added, jerking his thumb at his twin.

“Why?” Rose asked. “What, exactly did you find?”

He looked at his Time Lord self, who looked back at him, mirroring his worry. Rose caught their looks. “Well, what is it?” she demanded.

“Things are still changing, but you have a triple helix instead of a double, the third strand appears to be quite similar to my third strand, actually,” the full Time Lord told her.

“Most of the third strand is temporally out of sync with the rest of you, so we can't do any definitive tests on it yet. And, it looks like it has been there your whole life, like it was added before you were born.” the part human added.

“But it looks like it might be the same sequencing needed for regeneration,” the two hearted Doctor continued. “There's some other...stuff there, attached to your regular DNA, not out of sync.”

The part human Doctor then finished with, “And that part's a bit like what you'd find in the TARDIS coral.”

Rose had been looking back and forth between them as they spoke, as if watching a tennis match. Concern and a touch of fear etched her face. When they stopped speaking, she turned and walked over to a low wall, about as high as a chair, and sat down on it, in deep thought. While she was thinking, she didn't look at them.

After 1 minute, 22 seconds of agonized silence, she finally spoke up. “So,” she started, drawing out the 'o'. “Um, does this mean that I'll regenerate?”

“Maybe,” the Doctor wearing blue answered. “We don't know yet. You see, I still have the same sequence, but it's inactive in me. It wouldn't be like this if I had been created in a different way. The human part of me took over in the metacrisis.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked.

The Doctor started to look very embarrassed, but answered her question anyway. “Well, let's say that I have kids one day. There is a good chance that the Gallifreyan genetics would overpower the human genetics and the child would have the abilities that I no longer have.”

“We won't know for sure until the gene sequence is fully in sync with everything else where we can see how they interact, or until we get proof one way or the other,” the Doctor wearing brown added. "Something I'd rather not prove just yet."

“How does that even happen?” Rose asked. “Tow did I get Time Lord genes like that? I mean, my Mum's my mother, and my Dad-my original Dad's- my father, and they are both completely human, right? So how?”

“Oh, I'm sure that came from me,” the full Time Lord stated.

“What? No, don't tell me, it's like we're....related?” The last word was high pitched.

“No, don't be redicu-oh.” It hit him why she would think that. “Oh, no. The ability to regenerate isn't...naturally bestowed,” he explained. “That particular gene sequence governing the ability to regenerate is exactly the same in everyone.”

“And, if I'm right, and I usually am, you yourself answered the question of how,” the part human Doctor told her.

Rose looked confused for a moment, then her face cleared and her face morphed into an 'oh' look. “I create myself,” she quoted.

“You remember that now?” the Doctor wearing brown asked.

“Yeah, I remembered the whole thing when the void ship opened, but it's like watching a video,” she replied. “So, to make sure I have this all right. I have, and was born with, what appears to be Time Lord regeneration DNA, but we're not sure what effects it'll 'ave on me, if any, 'cause it's outta sync, and I also have TARDIS DNA as well that attached when I looked into the TARDIS. 'Ave I got that right?”

“TNA,” the Time lord corrected.

“Wha'?”

“TNA,” he repeated. “The third strand is TNA. Other than that, yeah, you’ve got it right.”

She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and her hands covered her face.

The part human Doctor went over to Rose and sat sown next to her. “Are you alright?” he asked. He was worried that it'd be too much.

She sat back a little bit, with her forearms on her thighs and looked over at him. “'M not sure how I feel about this yet,” she replied. “I mean, on one hand, it's great, I get to make good on my promise. On the other hand, it's regeneration. If it's possible, 'm not sure how I feel about being a new person, yet the same person.”

“I understand that,” he said.

His dual hearted counterpart came over with them, sat down on the wall on the other side of Rose, and took her hand, threading his fingers with hers. “Don't worry,” he assured her. “If it happens. When it happens, we'll be right here with you. To help you through the transition. It helps to not be alone.”

The three of them sat like that for 2 minutes exactly before he asked, “So, how long have you been using this room?”

“Oh, the TARDIS brought me here, just after leaving the two of you to play mad scientist. I love it,” she replied fondly, rubbing the wall she sat on.

“Never seen it before,” the Time Lord said, then added, “It looks new.”

“Is that a sword rack on the wall?” the part human asked.

“Yeah, shaped perfectly to hold a katana, but I don't have my sword anymore.” She looked sad at this. “It was destroyed in a world that was pretty much lava.” She changed the subject and asked the Doctors, “Can we go somewhere?”

“Wherever you want. Your wish is my command,” the Doctor wearing brown answered.

“Let's do something at random.”

The Doctors both grinned at that. They hadn't been on a random adventure in a while.

“'M gonna go take a shower and get dressed while you get us wherever we wind up.”

They went their separate ways.

XxXxXxXx

Rose walked into the console room later, wearing jeans and a pink t shirt. Her jacket with the dimensionally transient pockets was laid over her arm, ready just in case wherever they landed was cool.

Both Doctors looked up when Rose came in and grinned. “All ready to go?” the Time Lord asked.

“Oh, yes,” Rose replied.

“Well, round and round and round we go, where we go no one knows!” The part human said, spinning a dial without looking at it. They then ran around in their choreographed dance around the console flying the ship to their destination. As they ran around, Rose took opportunities to oogle any bum that came by. She wasn't shy about it either. They landed gently this time.

“Allonsy, Rose Tyler!” the full Gallifreyan exclaimed.

They stepped outside, into a chilly Cardiff.

Shrugging herself into her leather jacket, Rose turned around and asked the ship, “Why here? What do we need to do here?” In reply, the trio got an excited hum, and a picture of the Torchwood hub.

“Are we supposed to go see them?” The part Time Lord asked. The TARDIS's reply this time was an affirmative hum.

“Well then. Let's see what sort of trouble the Old Girl has for us now,” the Doctor wearing brown said.

Jack came out of the hub and looked around for the threesome. When he spotted them, he came over to them and wondered, “What brings you three here? Not that I'm complaining. You were just here a couple of days ago. Something wrong?”

Rose and the Doctors looked at each other, then back at the TARDIS.

“We set the TARDIS to take us somewhere random, and for some reason, she brought us here to see you,” Rose explained. “It's only been a few days for us as well.”

“Has there been anything, odder than usual coming through the rift, spatial distortions-” The Time Lord Doctor went through a long list of things with Jack.

“No, nothing weird,” Jack replied. “Better get in the hub and check everything over again make sure we haven't missed anything. It's not like the TARDIS to take you somewhere where you don't have anything worth doing.”

“Oh, Jack, you're always worth doing,” Rose piped up, knowing exactly what she was saying. She got a flirtatious smile from Jack and a couple of jealous looks from the Doctors.

They got into the hub, and Jack called for Ianto. “'Yan! I wanna hear those beautiful Welsh tones!”

He set Ianto and Gwen to running diagnostics on their systems, to be sure that they weren't missing anything.

While the Torchwood team and the Doctors were doing that, Rose roamed the room, looking around. She saw a rock that looked sort of like a branch or a root sitting on Gwen's desk, being used as a paperweight. She was drawn to it. When she stepped over to it, she was sure she knew what it was- and why the TARDIS brought them there.

“Jack,” she called him over. When he got to her, she asked him, “Do you know what that is?” She gestured, indicating the rock on the desk.

“Just some trash that came through the rift a while back. We don't know exactly what it is, but it gives off no discernible readings. I've asked Mickey and Martha if they knew anything when they were in here, but neither had a clue. It doesn't do anything, it's just a piece of rock.”

“You, Mickey, and Martha have all come across this before. Willing to bet your extremely long life on it being just a piece of rock?” she asked in a low voice.

Jack turned pale. “You know what it is?” he queried. “Is it something dangerous?”

“Not like that Jack,” she said. “But if I'm right, in the wrong hands it could be very dangerous.”

“And you're sure you know what it is?”

“Positive,” she said, then amended, “Well, about ninety-five percent sure.” She then called out. “Doctors, you're gonna wanna see this. I think I've found out why we're 'ere!”

Her excited tone had them rushing over quickly. She pointed to the piece of rough stone and asked them, “Is that what I'm thinkin' it is?”

The Doctor wearing brown picked it up and held it in his hand, eyes closed. Then a shadow passed over him, and he said, “It's dead.” He put it in his counterpart's hands, and turned away.

The part human Doctor looked at it like he was at the funeral of a loved one, and he was trying to remain stoic. He then closed his eyes too, feeling it as his other self had, then he gingerly put it back down on the desk.

“It doesn't make sense,” Rose said. “Why would she bring us here to save 'er, then be too late?” Both Doctors turned to look at her with identical mournful expressions. “I mean, haven't you all 'ad enough? So, why, then?”

She picked up the piece of coral from the desk and held it in her hand. It started giving off a light, golden glow at the cracks. She looked up at the Doctors, who both had their mouths open in shock.

XxXxXxXx

Just a moment ago, he had been hopeful that there was another TARDIS in existence, but that hope was shattered.

He held the dead TARDIS coral in his hands, feeling the weight of all of the loss he had ever suffered on him. He decided to try once to make contact with it as his other self had, just to be sure, but nothing came of it. With defeat, he put the piece of coral down carefully.

“It doesn't make sense,” Rose spoke up. She then proceeded to explain why she thought the whole thing didn't make sense. It was a logical argument, just like her theory about there being another surviving Time Lord after the War, which she had turned out to be right about.

She then carefully picked up the piece of coral from the desk and held it in both of her hands, as if it were the most precious thing in the world. With shock, he noticed a soft glow starting to come from the cracks. She then looked up from the coral at both himself and his counterpart with wide eyes. Wide eyes that currently had a matching glow to them.

“Rose,” his counterpart said fearfully. “Let go now.”

“It's okay, Doctor,” she replied. “Oh, I can hear her song, she joyful. She wasn't completely dead, but she was close to it Oh, so close. She just needed a bit of a jump start.” She then handed the TARDIS coral to the part human Doctor, who was standing nearer to her. As soon as it was out of her hands, the glow died in her eyes and the corresponding glow from the coral died out too.

He felt the little one in his mind, it was beautiful.

She then turned to Jack and informed him, “That's a baby TARDIS.” She sounded as proud as a mother of her own child.

Jack was incredulous. “That's a TARDIS?” he asked.

“Yep,” the full Time Lord said, popping the 'p' and looking considerably happier. He then added, “TARDIS's are grown. The process normally takes almost two thousand years before the young TARDIS is ready for more than a few short hops, but I have a way of doing it in just a few years.”

“What would you do with a second TARDIS?” Jack asked.

“Lots of things to do with a second TARDIS,” the part human Doctor told him. “There's all the times we're going into a dangerous situation. It'd be nice to take the second separately.”

“Times we've had to deal with things on two different places at once that were interconnected,” Rose added.

The Doctor wearing brown added, “the Old Girl is, well, old. She was in a museum when I first...acquired her. If something happens to her....” he trailed off and shuddered.

“How come Rosie could feel her when you couldn't?” he wondered.

“Oh, she's part TARDIS,” the Doctor in brown said jovially, as if that was nothing. His counterpart wanted to slap him, then decided that particular impulse was a quirk from Donna. Rose had just found that particular bit of information out 45 minutes, 83 seconds before and was obviously still trying to process it. Not to mention, that was Rose's information to tell.

“I was drawn to her. She's just a baby. I wonder how she got here. But we saved her life, and we'll take good care of her and get her to grow big and strong like her sister.” She was cooing to the TARDIS coral that was in the dual hearted Doctor's hands now, like it was any baby, to the amusement of both Doctors.

Rose then turned to Jack, Ianto, and Gwen, the later two having had joined them just before Rose had picked up the coral, and asked, “And you all thought it was a good idea to use an unidentified thing of possible extraterrestrial origin as a paperweight!”

He couldn't have been more proud of her in that moment.

Jack said, “Well, it's pretty and unusual, and it seemed to be just a rock, so...” he trailed off at the look on her face. “Hell Rosie, when did you develop that tone?”

“They didn't used to call me 'Commander Thorn' for nothin',” she replied. Then she elaborated, “I spent a bit of my time when I was working, but not out in the field taking people to task over what to do and not to do with unknown things. It was, bad, to say the least. People can be such idiots. There was this one time.....”

XxXxXxXx  
_17 months after being trapped in Pete's World._

Rose Tyler was off work, but stalking the halls of Torchwood's R&D department, looking for the man who'd have the ability to work on the teeny tiny bits for the scanner on her vortex manipulator. She knew what was wrong with it, but she didn't have the microscopic tools or the steady hand required to fix it.

Finally, she found her quarry, Michael Booth. Mike was in his late 20's, maybe already 30, she didn't know. He was the kind of guy who would have fit in well with the cast of _Revenge of the Nerds_ , but he was absolutely brilliant with wiring and computer like components.

10 minutes after explaining to him what needed to be done, and several attempts by him to ascertain the nature of the device and how it actually worked, her vortex manipulator was in perfect working order again. She still kept the teleport, because for shorter trips. It was less nausea inducing.

As she walked through the area where they kept the prototypes, she heard someone say, “There goes Commander Thorn.”

She knew that she had recently developed a reputation amongst the people who worked for Torchwood as someone who would do whatever she needed to, and dress down anyone, no matter their station, if she thought that they were being morons. She didn't care, either. She had kept this idiot last week from blowing his partner up, and that's all the justification she needed.

'Commander Thorn' was a better reputation than what people thought of her right when she first joined Torchwood, which was that she was only moving up the ladder because of daddy moneybags. As if. You get the cushy jobs from nepotism, thank you much. Those were the jobs she very much did not want, but her parallel father wanted her to take.

As she was leaving R&D, she saw a secretary who was messing about with an object. It was a dark gray metal, and looked sort of like a gaming controller.

“Do you know what that is?” Rose asked the woman.

“No, do you?” she replied, still turning it over. Then she pressed a button on the side.

Rose yelled at her, “You imbecile! 'Oh 'ere's a thing that I don' 'ave a clue what it is, let's press a random button!',” she said sarcastically. “That coulda been a weapon of some sort! You could 'ave killed yourself, me, or some random person! It mighta blown up and taken a lot of people out!”

Everyone within hearing distance had stopped and was watching the bollocking that was going on. She was glad of that, maybe the thought of her turning on them would keep them from doing something similar in the future.

“But it did nothing,” the woman, who's name Rose had yet to learn, stated, like it was obvious.

“That you know of,” Rose told her ominously, making the woman pale a bit. “Even so, you didn't know that before you pressed the fucking button, now, did ya.”

The woman looked completely terrified by the time Rose was finished yelling at her. She just held out the gadget to Rose to take.

“No, you put it back wherever the hell you got it from, and you had better 'ope nothing 'appened when you pressed that button.” She then turned to the rest of the room. “Don't you 'ave things you need ta be doin'?” She then turned around and stormed out into the hall to wait for the elevator, when Mickey came up to her.

“Hey Babe, I don't mean to interfere,” he said, “but maybe you should take it a bit more easy on some of these people.”

“Well, maybe they should quit being a bunch of stupid bloody apes,” Rose replied, then got into the elevator, punching the button to take her down to the lowest basement level, where her project was being stored. She then changed her mind, deciding that right then wasn't the time to be tackling that particular problem, as it often frustrated her as well.

She'd go down to the estates instead, where she'd practice her freerunning.

XxXxXxXx

“...it was a Beloni'pili'anian remote detonator! Luckily, it was broken, and the button she pressed was just to turn it on, because the explosives that were part of the setup were over in the Glasgow office.” she finished telling everyone that story, just the part where she dressed down a secretary for pressing a button on a device that she had no clue of what it was.

The Time Lord Doctor winced. “Ooh, that's well within range. How did they get the whole setup?”

“Oh, a family escaped a war that had started on their home planet. In exchange for asylum, they had to relinquish most of their advanced technology and all weapons, regardless of the technology. That was later amended to let the father have the ceremonial sword passed through his family,” she told them, then added, “Heritage, you know.”

Everyone else in the room nodded, as they all understood how important your past can be.

Just then, one of the computers beeped. Gwen went over to it. “UFO sighting over Swanbridge.”

Jack went over to look at the images she was pulling up. “Well, not UFO, IFO, that's a tourist ship from Sto. Tell them they need to get out of the atmosphere, they're scaring the Earthlings.”

“I wouldn't have thought that people from Sto would have been touring Earth anymore for a while after the Titanic incident,” Rose mused.

“You know how people are,” the part human Doctor said.

“Well, you all have work to do, and we need to get going, take care of the little girl here,” the Doctor in brown spoke up suddenly, holding up the piece of coral.

“Yeah, we do need to do that, don't we?” Rose agreed. She then turned to Jack and let him know, “Oh, I've got that bottle of hypervodka I promised.”

“Oh Rosie, my Rosie, I love you so!” He then turned to Ianto and Gwen and told them, “If you can't get sloshed off of that, there's not much in the universe that'll do it!”

They went out to the TARDIS, where Rose handed Jack the bottle of hypervodka and got a kiss in return for it. With promises to call soon, she closed the door, laughing, and turned to see both Doctors looking unhappy as they sent the TARDIS off into the vortex.

“What's with the frowny faces?” she asked, as if she didn't know, but it was so fun to try to get them to admit it.

“Less than two weeks, and we've already been in the Torchwood base three times,” the full Time Lord complained.

“Would prefer a healthy distance from Torchwood,” his counterpart agreed.

“That's all that's left of Torchwood in this universe, and this lot are good people who we've saved the world with many times over,” Rose declared. “Admit it, Doctors you're jealous,” she teased.

Both of them scoffed at that.

“Right.” Rose laughed. “I forgot, 'Time Lords don't get jealous.'” She mocked them both. She then changed the subject back to the TARDIS coral. “So, what do we have to do with this? You said you could make her grow faster?”

“Oh, we just shatterfry the plasmic shell, and modify the dimensional stabilizers to a foldback harmonic of 36.3, which accelerates the growth power by 59,” the Time Lord rattled off.

“Donna came up with that?” his counterpart asked. “But that's brilliant!”

“Okay, pretending I have no clue what you're talkin' about, which isn't much of a stretch, what are we doin'?” Rose asked.

“Come on.” The part Time Lord took her hand and pulled her out of the console room.

They went into the lab he used the most. The Time Lord put the coral on the counter, and the trio started gathering what they needed. Rose was sent off to look for an aquarium, some hose, and water. The Doctors gathered the rest.

When they all had gathered the things they needed. The Doctors set about putting the pieces together. They had Rose put the sand with a reddish tint in the aquarium, then wet it down while they worked on fastening bits together. Then they both quickly and efficiently putting the various bits of equipment into and around the aquarium.

They were almost finished when Rose finally saw how all of the pieces worked together. “Oh, I get it,” Rose exclaimed. “That's a mister to keep the coral damp, and this creates a frequency, for the foldback harmonic...”

She went through each bit quickly, and both Doctors looked proud. The part human then carefully set the coral into the small tank. The Doctor with two hearts then held out his sonic screwdriver to Rose.

“Care to do the honors?” he asked. Rose took the sonic from him and looked at it, then at the coral nervously. “It's set already, just point at it from above and wait for the glow to start, keep holding it until the cracks get wider.”

She held the sonic out over the coral, pointing it down at it, then held down the button and waited, listening to the sonic make its whirring noise. After about 30 seconds, the cracks that glowed earlier when the coral was in her hand began glowing again. Forty-five seconds later, the cracks got brighter. After another minute and a half or so, the cracks started widening. She let go of the button and looked up at the Doctors, who were both staring at the baby TARDIS. They then both looked at her with identical grins. The TARDIS herself, the fully grown one, that was, seemed pleased.

“Okay, the little one will need to rest now, and I could use a bite, anyone else?” the human Doctor said, then added, “I was thinking a picnic.”

Both Rose and the other Doctor agreed. “I have the perfect place,” the Time Lord told them. They broke up. The Doctor wearing blue went to get the picnic ready. The Doctor in brown and Rose went to the console room to get them to the destination.

Rose was helping to fly the TARDIS again, running around and hitting what the Doctor told her to. Just after the TARDIS stopped its shuddering, the other Doctor came out of the corridor with a basket in hand.

“Very Little Red Riding Hood,” Rose commented.

“What?” he asked, confused, then he looked down at the basket. “The basket?”

“Yep!” Rose chirped.

“Well then, grandma, what big teeth you have!”

She grinned and replied in her best flirtatious voice, “All the better to eat you with, my dear.”

He swallowed, and she winked, then moved to the door, noticing the Doctor in brown shaking his head and smiling.

She stepped out into the planet they had taken her to. It looked like Earth, except the gravity was a little wrong. She looked out over a valley, with a stream running through the center of it. One of the Doctors walked up behind her and slid his hands around her at the waist. She didn't look down to see which one it was. She just leaned her head back against him.

“This is Hanari, about 2,000 B.C., going by your calendar.”

“It's beautiful,” Rose told him.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed.

She turned her head towards him and looked at him. He was looking back at her. The Doctor closed the distance between their lips and kissed her softly. He then pulled back and she saw that it was the full Time Lord.

She followed him to the picnic that the other Doctor had set up. He was already sitting there, watching his other self and Rose with a soft, understanding look. They joined him, and he opened up the basket and pulled out sandwiches and a bag of crisps for each of them, plus cups and a green drink from Aleria that Rose loved. They sat there for a moment, eating and drinking, and telling little stories.

Dessert was cream rolls, with banana flavored filling. Rose was alreadsy enjoying her flaky pastry when the Time Lord Doctor started in on his.

With his tongue.

He must have had an idea of what he was doing, he had to have. No one eats those like that, dipping that long tongue of his into the pastry and eating the cream out of it first, as if he were- oh dear. She tried to look away, she really tried, but, damn. And the worst part of it was that he didn't seem to realize what he was doing, as if he ate those like that all of the time!

She'd have expected this sort of thing from Jack, or even from the Doctor sitting on her other side, as he seemed more inclined to do such a thing, but not from that Doctor.

At the thought of the Doctor that usually wore the blue suit, she finally tore her eyes from the incredibly distracting sight before her and looked at the other Doctor, who had a smirk.

_“See something you like?”_

_“Shut up.”_

He raised an eyebrow at her. _“I have a way for you to make me shut up.”_ She was then hit with an image of herself straddling him.

 _“Guh,”_ was all her mind could come up with. His smirk turned into an all out predatory grin.

She just concentrated on eating her pastry, trying her best to ignore the both of them.

When they were finished, Rose's mind turned to the baby TARDIS. She commented, “So we started growing a TARDIS today.”

“Yeah, we did, didn't we?” the part human preened.

“Well, we couldn't let her die, now could we?” the Time Lord said from her other side.

She laid back, looking at the clouds. Both Doctors laid down next to her, one on either side. Her mind was whirring with the things she had learned that day, not the least of which was the knowledge that she stood a fairly good chance of regenerating one day.

She then looked over to the full Time Lord and asked, “So what's regeneration like, from your point of view?”

The part human rolled over and propped his head up with his hand, looking over her to the full Time Lord, then back down at Rose.

“A lot depends on the circumstances that cause it, so I'll go with the last full regeneration,” the Doctor in brown told her. He then looked up at the sky. “I hurt at first, holding it back so I could try to get some kind of explanation to you as soon as you woke up. As soon as I let go, it felt good, felt really good to heal, but only for that moment, because then the change started.” He took a deep breath and continued, “What you feel during the change tends to be the same. It's like you're tearing apart and coming back together.”

“It sounds very painful,” Rose stated softly.

“Yeah, it is, but it's only for a moment, and if the regeneration went right, then all pain is gone after that.”

“Unless you get your hand cut off,” Rose said wryly.

“That didn't actually hurt.” The part human told her.

“What, really?”

“First 15 hours of regeneration,” the Time Lord explained. “You feel no pain at all not directly linked to the regeneration. This is actually the second time I've lost a hand, the first being in my first life. I had a bioengineered replacement.”

The Doctor that would never regenerate again then took up the description. “Then comes the fun part, finding yourself again. The core of who you are, your memories and all is the same, so you're not building from scratch. It's more, like you're going through, I don't know how to describe it, a phase? You used to like, say mayonnaise, and now the thought of it makes you gag. People, no matter the species, are always changing.”

“It's like you went through years of minor changes, but they happened all at once. And you've also got to learn the differences of a new body,” the Time Lord Doctor finished.

She looked back at the sky, thinking over what they said, putting it together with what she had witnessed in the standard regeneration she had seen. Then she remembered her fears over him regenerating.

“Would I still love you?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“Oh, Rose Tyler, I still love you, through three bodies now,” the part human told her.

She looked over at him, eyes wide, then grabbed his jacket and pulled him down to her. There was nothing gentle about this snog. It was all passion. One hand went around his neck, and into his hair, while the other one still held on to his jacket. His free hand rested on her side at first, then started moving under her shirt as he got into a better, more comfortable position to snog her properly.

She let go of his jacket and ran her hand down his torso, pulling his t shirt out of his trousers. He pushed a knee between hers, and she felt how hard he had become. The hand that was moving slowly over her torso started moving down, fingertips skimmed her waistband, dipped just under, then moved up towards her breast, driving her crazy.

He then pulled back, looking her right in the eyes, like he was searching for something. He then looked at his counterpart, causing Rose to look over at him as well. Guilt started to weigh on her because for a moment, when the one that was now half on top of her said that he loved her, she had forgotten he was right there watching.

He was laying there, on his side watching them, but none of the negative emotions she expected him to be showing were to be seen. Instead, he looked lustful. He leaned in closer and smelled her. He didn't even try to hide what he was doing. Then he kissed her, a slow, languid kiss, like he was tasting her.

“It's a bit different with him than what you're expecting,” the Doctor that was still on top of her told her.

“How?” Rose asked breathlessly, and a bit confused, she was sure that her mind had just shorted out, again.

“Nothing too weird, I hope,” the man with two hearts explained. “I um, there are some hormones given off when females are aroused.” He licked up the side of her neck quickly and continued, “Serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, I need those hormones to be released in a certain amount before I can...”

“Rose,” the Doctor wearing blue got her attention again. “Just tell us to stop, and we will. This might be a bit intense.”

“Us? You mean you'd do that?” At their nods, she said, “Oh God.” She looked at the Doctor wearing the brown suit. “What do you need?” she asked.

He came in for another kiss, more forceful this time. “Just enjoy yourself,” he implored. “And let us know if something is too much or not comfortable for you.”

The part human then turned her face back towards him and kissed her, his hand moved down and undid the button on her jeans. Then, his hand slid under the fabric of her knickers and plunged into her wet folds. She moaned into his mouth, and the other Doctor pulled her jeans off the rest of the way, her knickers quickly following. The two of them worked together to quickly divest her of all of her clothing, tailing kisses along her body as pieces were removed, until she was completely starkers.

Both men were still completely dressed though. They had both resisted all attempts made by her to remove clothing. With her lying there naked, and the two of them fully clothed, she suddenly felt self conscious. The Doctors both saw this, and set to work getting rid of that feeling. The part human man moved his hand back between her legs, rubbing softly. They both watched her carefully as he slid one finger, then two in side of her and started pumping.

The Time lord then leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “My Rose, you're beautiful.” He kissed her softly, his hand on her cheek, then trailed that hand down with his counterpart's. While the part human's fingers were inside of her, the Time Lord rubbed small circles on her clit, driving her mad. He kept kissing her softly, as her moans became more frantic. Suddenly, his kiss became deeper, and he plunged his tongue in her mouth, just as she broke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: lyrics belong to Coldplay and The Black Keys, recognizable characters belong to the BBC.


	23. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is pure smut and swearing, enjoy!

While the part human's fingers were inside of her, the Time Lord rubbed small circles on her clit, driving her mad. He kept kissing her softly, as her moans became more frantic. Suddenly, his kiss became deeper, and he plunged his tongue in her mouth, just as she broke. 

She felt waves of pleasure like she had never felt before. The Doctor was right, it was very intense, and it was just starting. Both Doctors slowed down, letting her pleasure subside. With one last kiss, the Time Lord moved back and sat on his knees, studying her. He looked at his hand which had been touching her, and licked his fingers with a moan. His part human counterpart then held out his hand, the two fingers which had been inside of her extended. 

The Doctor looked between the extended hand, the newer Doctor, and Rose, then back at the hand. Rose realized what this was, a metaphorical olive branch. The last gesture of peace between the two men. If he took it, there would be no coming back. It'd seal the deal of the three of them as a single unit, not just two couples with a shared component.

He grabbed the wrist that used to be his, and looked to Rose, who had sat up. He must have seen something in the way she was looking at them both, because he then took the fingers into his mouth, sucking them clean and making it absolutely impossible for Rose to think for a second. He released his counterpart's hand, eyes closed, and breathing a bit ragged. 

The Doctor in the blue suit then unbuttoned the single button that was done up on his jacket, and shrugged it off, throwing it off to the side. He kissed her, softly at first, then it became more passionate. She tugged at the hem of his t shirt, wanting it off as soon as possible, and he helped her remove it, only breaking their kiss off long enough to get it over his head. 

She ran her hands over his torso. Fingers moving downward until she reached his trousers, which she unbuttoned and unzipped. She then cupped him, feeling just how much he wanted her, and he let out a hiss and broke away from her, shucking his trousers and pants as quickly as he could before descending down on her again, kissing down her neck to her chest. 

“Um, you'll need protection,” the Doctor who was still clothed suddenly spoke up, right before things could get any farther with the other two. “Her hormone levels suggest-”

The other man broke from his ministrations on her nipples and gasped, “My jacket, right pocket,” before he resumed what he was doing. 

Rose was still partially wondering if this was all a dream. A very good, extremely detailed dream that she'd be waking up from. What made her sure that this was actually, really real was the condom that was held out by the Time Lord, who was still, maddeningly clothed, and the fact that they were outside of all places, which is a location she had never actually given any thought to. 

Brightly wrapped condom in hand, the Doctor kissed Rose properly again, then leaned back, tore open the package, and rolled the contents on himself quickly. He then spread Rose's legs apart and positioned himself in between her knees, leaned forward, and gave her a long, slow, lingering kiss. He then pulled back for a moment, giving her one last chance to stop him. 

“I love you, my Doctor,” Rose whispered in permission.

“I love you too, my Rose,” he replied, then slid inside of her with a groan. He stilled for a moment, a look of awe trained on her, until she kissed him again. Then, he started moving, slowly, little moans and grunts escaping his mouth. 

“Oh, Rose,” he whispered in her ear. “My Rose. My precious Rose.”

He shifted a little, getting deeper within her. She gasped and moaned out his chosen name, which had the effect of making him thrust harder. He started murmuring in Gallifreyan, the musical notes coming faster and faster in the same handful of phrases over and over.

He shifted again, into an upright position, wrapping his hands around her arse and lifting it up a bit, burying himself as far as he could. The fully clothed Doctor then started running his hands over her body, slowly, feather light abd barely touching her. He then leaned down again, kissing her like he had before, like he was tasting her. 

He started kissing and licking down her body, taking his time and being gentle, while the Doctor buried within her became more and more ardent. She became aware that she herself was babbling, words and phrases like, “Doctor,” “Love you,” “Oh, fuck,” “Yes,” and a myriad of other things. 

The Doctor's licking, kissing, and sucking had moved down to her belly button. Her hands were buried in his hair, fingernails running over his scalp. He looked up at her and grinned, then moved down to her ankle, where he began the process up her leg.

The Doctor buried within her then went back to hovering over her, arms on either side of her, he then let himself down slowly, covering her body with his, and kissing her hungrily. She felt his mind near the edge of her consciousness, and she let the connection happen. She felt the gamut of emotions he was feeling at that moment, a maelstrom of lust, love, and reverence, with possession and other, darker emotions underneath. There weren't many coherent thoughts running through his mind at the moment, nothing more coherent than her thoughts for sure.

She wondered what he was feeling from her, but only for a moment before his thrusting turned erratic and he buried his face in her neck, moaning her name over and over. 

The other Doctor had held the leg he was working on up and was licking the space behind her knee, one of his hands on her hip, holding her still. When he moved up from her knee, she reached down with one hand and grabbed his. He looked up at her, glassy eyes locked onto hers while he ran his tongue up her thigh. 

She turned her eyes from him with a little growl and looked into the eyes of the Doctor on top of her. She was getting close, so close, and she knew he was almost there as well. Neither of them could even say the other one's name anymore, short as they were. The two of them were down to panting and groans in their vocal repertoire, and what was passing between them mentally wasn't much more, just the pressing _need_ getting closer to being fulfilled. 

She lost all sense of anything other than pleasure as her orgasm struck and her whole body tensed. She felt his mind also go completely blank as he followed her barely a second later. They rode the aftershocks together, just holding each other for a moment after it was over. 

XxXxXxXx

When he could move again, he pulled back from her both mentally and physically. He rolled off of her onto his back and both of them started giggling at the same time.

“That was fantastic, brilliant, _fantastically brilliant!”_ he exclaimed. “Better than anything I've ever fantasized.” He rolled over onto his side and looked at her.

“Oh, you fantasize about me, huh?” she teased breathlessly. 

“Oh yes,” the Time Lord, who was now kissing her hip and running his free hand up her inner thigh said in a thick voice. He then climbed up her slowly, trailing his tongue up her stomach, up between her breasts, all the way to her mouth, kissing her softly. 

His counterpart was still fully dressed, which, he knew from the glimpse in her mind, was driving her a bit mad. His past self was being gentle with her, for now. Letting her calm down a bit more before he started in. 

He watched them, interested. His other self looked exactly like him in all respects, and it was something else to see exactly what you looked like when you were with the woman you love, without having to have a big mirror or a camera on hand, that was. He now understood people's desires to have the mirrored ceilings and tape themselves. 

The Doctor was licking her neck again, and she turned her head towards him, looking at him, the light gold tinge in her eyes refusing to go away completely since her first orgasm. He gave her a warm smile. She ran her eyes down his body and sighed. She looked so happy.

Rose had been mostly passive so far, letting them do whatever to her. That was changing. She started taking a bit of control. She really wanted those clothes off...

XxXxXxXx

She pressed the leg he had just been giving attention to to his groin, and felt that he was starting to get hard, but not much. She finally understood what he meant by needing the hormones, and how she just needed to enjoy herself, so she did, she just sunk into the sensations of him running his hands over her body and kissing her. 

He started moving down her neck again, and she turned her head, looking at the other Doctor, completely naked, laying there on his side, looking content. He gave her a warm smile and she ran her eyes down his body. 

She turned her head back toward the full Time Lord, who was still maddeningly dressed, and kissed him, reaching for the buttons of his suit jacket. He had two buttoned, and she quickly undid them. His tie, which had previously been trapped by the jacket, dropped loose, laying on her body, the silk sliding along her sensitive skin. 

She pushed the pinstriped jacket off of his shoulders, and he helped her get it off of him, then she worked on his tie, loosening it so that she could slide it off of him over his head. As soon as the tie was as loose as she wanted it, she went to work on the buttons of his oxford. When the last button was undone, he grabbed her wrists and held them on either side of her head with a little growl and brought his mouth to hers again. It seemed that he was done being sweet and gentle. His groin pressed into her again, but he still wasn't much harder than he had been a few minutes ago.

What did he need? Did she need to come again?

He started kissing back down her body. He moved faster this time, with a greater sense of urgency about it, where before his movements were languid. The tie trailed down after him and got in his way, so he pulled back and yanked it over his head, flinging it away, to where, she didn't know, or care. 

The other Doctor leaned closer to her and softly reminded her, “You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, if it gets too intense, tell us, and he'll stop.”

“I want to,” she breathed. “I- _oh, fuck!”_ her train of thought disappeared entirely when he stuck his tongue in between her legs. No one had ever done that before. His tongue plunged into her as it had that cream roll earlier, and she threw her head back, moaning. The part human Doctor next to her smiled down on her and gave her a light kiss. He then backed up, back to where he was earlier and watched them. 

The Time Lord then moved back up her body, forgoing the kissing up her stomach, but planting kisses on her very hard nipples when he got there. He looked a bit wild, his hair sticking up at all angles, shirt open, and a manic gleam in his eyes. His groin made contact with her inner thigh, and she felt him again. This time, he was fully hard. 

She ran her hands down his chest, reveling in the way he felt. When she got down to the waistband of his trousers, she half expected him to pull her hands away again, but he didn't, he just stared into her eyes, breath speeding up. When she undid the button and zipper on his trousers, his eyes got dark, really, actually dark. Not like you say dark in a human, where they don't actually change color.

It wasn't long after that, that his trousers and pants were off and he was laying on top of her, lips locked with hers. Rose tasted herself on his lips. She pushed the shirt off of him, and ran her hands up his arm, stopping when they rested on his shoulders. 

Suddenly, he broke away, and sat upright, grabbing the open condom pack from his other self, who had helpfully grabbed one out of his jacket. It was quickly put on.

Before he could go back to what he was doing, Rose pushed him back against the ground, climbing over him and straddling him, her hand on either side of his head. He had yelped when he toppled over, and she laughed, giving him a quick kiss before she sat up and lined him up with her entrance. 

The moment he was lined up, he jerked his hips up and entered her in a quick motion, he threw his head back and moaned, “Rose.” When he was buried as deep as he could get, she bounced on him a couple of times, then leaned back forward with her hands on either side of his head. He wrapped his hands around her waist and started rubbing up and down her back. He then leaned up and buried his face between her breasts, kissing her right over her heart, then working his way up to her lips.

When his lips met hers, he suddenly flipped the two of them over so that he was on top. She gave a little shriek of surprise, and he chuckled darkly, nipping one of her nipples. He grabbed her hands and held them next to her head again. This time, he laced his fingers with hers. 

He said her name again, then started moving. His thrusts were harder and faster, as deep as he could get. He was no longer being gentle with her. The Doctor started leaving little bites all over her shoulders, neck, and breasts, little tiny bits of pain that heightened the pleasure considerably. 

He then slowed down, and looked into her eyes. He pulled one of his hands out of hers, and put it on the side of her face. “May I?” he asked softly. 

“Yes,” she replied, barely more than a whisper, then kissed him, initiating mental contact before he could. As usual, she got emotions first. She felt his surprise at the strength of her mind. He knew she was telepathic before, but this was more than he had hoped. When the surprise subsided, she felt his love, possessiveness, and lust as the strongest emotions coming from him.

He then went deeper into her mind than his other self had. She was hit with his thoughts. She felt the turn of the planet they were on, like she had felt so long ago back when they first met, when he was all leather and sass and attitude and gorgeousness. She'd feel the turn of the planets over the time she had traveled with him after he regenerated, when he'd be holding her and let his guard down. This planet turned slower than Earth, but it was still a wild ride. 

_“That daft face?”_ She heard his amused voice in her mind.

 _“Yes, you were gorgeous, this version of you is downright sexy,”_ she let him know. His answer to that was a particularly hard thrust and him groaning her name. 

She saw the flow of time as he did, and realized that some of her visions were actually seeing time lines, not just remembering possibilities Seen. He heard this go through her mind, not even a full, conscious thought, and stopped, looking her in the eyes, awe and a touch of shock written all over his face and mind. _“I should have known, you brilliant woman.”_

That was the last full conscious thought either of them had as they both gave themselves to pleasure. He went back to nipping her all over, and she held on for dear life, feeling like she was so close to free fall. Both groaning, moaning, and panting. 

Suddenly, she really did feel like she was falling. For a moment, she couldn't tell if she was him, or her, or something else entirely as he went a bit deeper in her mind, then everything sorted itself out. She felt everything he felt, and she could feel what he was feeling from her. 

This continued on for 12.1 seconds when she shattered completely. He went with her, and she knew no more.


	24. The Bonds That Tie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit more smuttiness

Rose came back to consciousness slowly, not wanting to wake up, but needing to find her duvet, as she was a bit cold. She had just had a very wonderful dream, where she and her Doctors had a threesome on an uninhabited Earth like planet. And oh, the things her dirty mind came up with! She blamed Jack's influence, and Jake's too, while she was at it.

She moved, and- oh, okay, so maybe it wasn't a dream after all. She opened her eyes, and saw a brilliant blue sky, just a bit darker than Earth's.

She started laughing.

XxXxXxXx  
The part human Doctor watched his two hearted counterpart making love to Rose with interest. Rassilon, he was a skinny bloke, properly skinny, all angles. How Rose could stand to be with either one of them, he didn't know.

She was obviously enjoying herself, though. She had even attacked him. They both had given a little laugh at his yelp when she pushed him back, though it wasn't long before she squealed when he took control again.

Part of him wanted to rip his other self off of her and never let him touch her again. It wasn't about jealousy. Oddly enough, he felt no jealousy for his other self, had even helped get them together. It was about possession. This body of his was born in fire and rage. And much like the body he was in when he first met Rose, he was prone to baser instincts. He didn't know how much of that this time was from the human in him, and how much was because of being born in battle. But in the end, he didn't think it mattered much.

A bigger part of him wanted to join in. To make the mental connection with both. To worship at the temple of the Wolf. And by worship, he meant fuck her until she was cross-eyed and didn't know her own name. But they'd have to work up to that sort of thing.

He enjoyed feeling the sparks of pleasure from both of them through the bonds they all shared. The natural bond he shared with his other self, and the bond he shared with Rose. The bond with Rose was a teacher/student link, so it would be easier to teach her the more intricate bits of telepathy. He suspected that it was morphing into a more intimate type, because he shouldn't be able to feel anything from her.

He had known his counterpart would want to touch Rose mentally, especially now that he knew about her abilities. His other self hadn't had real mental contact with someone who he wasn't trying to get answers from since the War. His first mental contact was during the first time he laid with the woman they loved, who was also a telepath.

He watched them carefully, knowing that she'd give everything she could, and he'd forget himself and take everything she gave, and it might be too much for her. That's why he had warned her about the intensity.

Things seemed to be going well though, until orgasm struck. She had cried out his _Name_ when they came. Then they both passed out. Both of them, not just her. Crap. That wasn't good. That shouldn't have been possible.

He couldn't feel anything through his bonds with them while they were unconscious beyond the presence of the person on the other side of the link. A quick fingertip on Rose's temple told him that the two of them had created a bond, but only the same kind that his own bond with Rose might be morphing into. Not the unbreakable bond he had feared. How would she have known his name then?

She was also okay, just sleeping for the moment. He checked his twin while he pushed him off of Rose. The idiot shouldn't have went so deep like that, he knew better than that. Maybe they shouldn't have done this, not today. Not so soon after the emotional revelation Rose had. He hated himself. They should have waited until she had time to process it.

Then it hit him how she could have known his name. The gold in her eyes. He wondered if she'd remember it when they came to.

He sat there looking at them, eyes roaming over Rose's body, thinking about what he was going to do with her next time. He did promise a rut against the wall after all, which was a fantasy he had maintained since he was all ears and leather. He had a great many fantasies from that time, all of which he could probably do now. He wondered if she'd mind bondage. Maybe he'd bring it up next time she wandered off- _Stop it!_ The saner parts of his mind yelled at him, berating himself for being a lecherous old man, staring at an unconscious and exposed Rose like that.

He retrieved all of the pieces of their clothes, which were wildly scattered about, and sorted them out, then started putting his own kit on.

He had just gotten his t shirt back on, when Rose stirred a little and moaned. He bent down to grab the final piece, his jacket, when she opened her eyes and started giggling.

XxXxXxXx

Rose looked over to the naked, sleeping Doctor that was next to her, and her laughter got harder. She heard a chuckle from the other side of her, and turned her head to look at the other Doctor, who was fully dressed and standing there with a daft grin on his face.

His eyes traveled from her toes up to her face and back again, and she became aware that she was still naked. “See something ya like?” she asked.

“Oh, Rose Tyler, I see many things I like,” he replied in a low voice, rolling the 'R' of her first name. She realized that he was trying for a seductive look, and laughed. He looked ridiculous.

“What?”

She got up from her prone position on the blanket and ran her fingers through her hair, still laughing a little.

“What?” he asked again, a little more indignant this time.

She just shook her head and started picking up her clothes, laughing now from the memory that he had just dredged up. They'd have to go see Sarah Jane sometime soon. “Was that supposed to be seductive?” she finally replied.

He looked nervous, running his hand across the back of his neck. “Um, yeah?”

“Okay,” she said, finding her knickers in the pile of clothes that was hers.

“Oi!”

She took pity on him. “You're a natural flirt, but you're not used to actively being seductive. You'll get there,” she assured him, while stepping into her knickers. She looked up at him and noticed how he was watching her bum. “Enjoying the show?” she flirted, giving her bum a little wiggle.

“Oh yes. And here I thought that the show would be the removal of clothing.”

“Entertainment can be whatever you want it to be,” she countered, grinning at him.

He gave her a small, lopsided smile, stepped closer to her, and took her shirt out of her hands. “Don't cover yourself up, not yet,” he said in a low voice. He then wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She gasped at his sudden change in demeanor. When she was pressed against him, he claimed her mouth greedily.

His hands rubbed the silky expanse of her back, then moved down to cup her arse underneath her knickers. She moaned when she felt him through his trousers. She pulled back a little and gave him a mischievous grin. “'As someone been having naughty thoughts while I was asleep?”

“Oh, yes,” he groaned. “Impossible not to, looking down on a naked sleeping goddess.” He then captured her mouth again, but only for a quick kiss before he started moving down her neck.

“Goddess?” she gasped out.

“Oh, yes,” came his voice from the ground. The Time Lord Doctor had woken and was watching them with a smile on his face.

“Hello, Sleepyhead,” The part human Doctor teased.

“I hurt you?” he asked Rose suddenly. He sat up and looked at her side, just under her tattoo, then across her shoulders where several small bite shaped bruises were forming. He had self hatred in his eyes. She also felt the anger at himself emanating from him.

“Wha'?” She was confused. She looked down at her side and saw a hand shaped bruise forming. It wasn't going to be much, and she hadn't felt it. “Oh, I didn't even notice that,” she said, then added, “It'll be gone in a short time.” She shrugged and started to put her clothes back on.

He got up, obviously not feeling any better from what she told him, and she noticed the scratches on his back.

“Hmm, looks like you've got a few marks of your own,” she told him. “Betcha my itty bitty bruises that doesn't even 'urt are gone long before those scratches down your back.” She turned around and asked the Doctor that was dressed, “Did I leave any marks on you?” She tugged her shirt back down to it's proper place.

He grinned. “A couple. Scratches on my arms and a bite on my shoulder.”

“I bit you?” she queried, surprised.

“Yeah, right before you screamed my name.” He smirked at her. Wow, just when you thought an ego couldn't get bigger.

The Time Lord was almost completely dressed by now. He finished buttoning his shirt and slipped his suit jacket on, then grabbed his tie and stuffed it in his pocket. The tip of it just sticking out. The mussed hair, detail of the tie, and the open collar made him look thoroughly shagged, and she felt a thrill knowing that it was her that did it to him. She felt a bit of awkwardness and embarrassment from him. That wasn't right, usually she'd have to be deliberately open to feeling emotions before her defenses would let it in.

“So, um, why did we pass out?” Rose questioned them.

The Doctor wearing blue answered that one. “You two went really, really deep into each other's minds. It was almost too much for both of-”

The Doctor in brown then cut him off with a startled, “We have a bond!” His voice went a bit squeaky and he was looking at her with a bit of fear and awe.

“Ah, that explains it,” Rose told them. “I was wondering why I was feeling your emotions so strongly.”

“And...you're...okay with that?” the Doctor asked, nervously.

“Yeah, I mean I woulda preferred a talk about it firs', but it takes two to make a bond, and I’ve got a light one with him,” she indicated the part human Doctor. “So why not?”

He looked at his part human counterpart. “You have a bond?”

He nodded and told him, “It was set for teaching.”

“How did I not-?”

“You weren't looking for it, and I was hiding it.”

“Oh.” He just stared out at the beautiful sight before them, the sun starting to go down on the other side of the valley.

It was idyllic. She came up to him, put her hand in his, her head on his shoulder, and felt his torrent of emotions start to settle down. The Doctor behind her came up even with them and grabbed Rose's free hand. The three of them stood like that for another few minutes until the sun went down, when the full Time Lord turned to her, and kissed her softly.

XxXxXxXx  
After they had left Hanari, they had a quick talk about options, got showered and changed, and went to an Earth colony in the 50th century, where they had perfected a version of birth control that would work on all females with a significant amount of human DNA. It was just a shot, but it would work for 6 years guaranteed, unless you went in and had the counter shot.

While waiting for it, she asked the part human Doctor where he had gotten condoms from. He turned red at the ears and mumbled something about Jack. She wanted to laugh, because Jack had slipped her a few too, telling her, “Be good. If you can't be good, be good at it. And if you can't be good at it, come back here and I'll give you thorough lessons. I even have a pretty boy in a suit you could practice threesomes with, if that's what you want.” But he was embarrassed enough, and she wouldn't laugh, nor would she tell him what Jack said.

XxXxXxXx  
By the time they got back to the TARDIS, the brown suited Doctor was neck deep in spare TARDIS bits. After they found what he was looking for, they got the TARDIS into the vortex. The newer Doctor bid the other two goodnight and went to her room at her suggestion.

The full Time Lord then took Rose to the TARDIS coral. He slipped those sexy specs on, and began giving her lessons on what was needed everyday, with the help of charts and diagrams from the books in the library that dealt on the subject. It seemed that she was bonded to it and was the catalyst to make it grow the best. He theorized that some of the huon particles and artron energy in her system were transferring to the baby TARDIS, so it wouldn't need to create them herself. Not at the start anyway. He figured out that maybe it would cut some time off of the growth.

It was like nothing had ever happened between them, which was good. No awkwardness, no weirdness, just them. The only differences were in the fact that he didn't seem to want to let her out of his sight, that he didn't dumb things down as much as he used to, or need to dumb them down so much, and that every time his skin came in contact with hers, she felt like static electricity was buzzing just beneath the surface and a strong desire to strip him down. Okay, that last part wasn't entirely new, but it'd never been so strong before.

An hour and a half after coming into the lab where the first stage of TARDIS growth was to be done, he was giving her information on the huon particles. “And what about the particles in me?” she asked. “Is that something that's gonna hurt me? If I remember right, from what you said before, huon particles are incredibly dangerous.”

“In you, they're part of what has allowed your transfiguration to take effect. For you, they're harmless.” He closed the book he had in his hand on huon energy, slipped his specs up, and rubbed the corners of his eyes, then let the thick rimmed glasses drop back in place.

“What about for other people?” Rose wondered, worriedly.

“Nah, you won't hurt others with it, it seems to be part of the TARDIS-like bits in you.” He smiled when she visibly and mentally relaxed at his assurance.

He then put one of his hands on her cheek, and she automatically leaned into it. “Are you tired yet?” he asked her softly.

“I still have an hour or so before I'll be tired enough to sleep.”

He took her to the media room, where they watched some archeology based show on Ancient Egypt and heckled the findings. The Doctor told her that the 'gods' of Egypt were actually aliens of a powerful race called Osirians, of which Setekh was the last member. He then told her of the time that he and Sarah Jane had come across Setekh, and he was possessed. After that, Rose wanted to go see the artwork when it was new and vibrant. The Doctor promised her they they would soon.

A few minutes later, they were laughing at some stupid show where these lizards were being judged by humanoid people. She was curled into his side, with his arm around her shoulders. She felt content. She noticed that he was watching her and lifted her head to look him in the eye.

“Yes?” she asked.

He licked his lips and looked a bit unsure, then apparently a decision was made, and he slowly brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. The moment his skin touched hers, she felt the pleasant, static feeling. The Doctor tasted like the popcorn they had been eating and tossing at the telly, ancient spices, and something undefined that she had always called Time. He pulled back, and looked her in the eyes. She gave him a smile, then kissed him back, threading one of her hands through his really, really great hair. He pulled her closer, and she wrapped her other arm around his neck. Their kisses became more and more enthusiastic until she realized that she was straddling him.

She broke from him, needing a moment, and he was looking at her, with that hair of his sticking up in so many directions, looking absolutely adorable. He moved his hands from her waist, to the front of her shirt, slowly unbuttoning it from the bottom up, watching her carefully. When he got the last button undone, he slid it off of her shoulders, and she helped him shrug it off onto the floor. She then leaned forward and captured his lips again, setting a punishing pace as they removed her clothing one piece at a time. Once again, he resisted all attempts to make him naked, though he did let her take the tie off and undo some buttons.

She had only her jeans and knickers left when he moved her off his lap until she stood. He removed her jeans, then maneuvered her into a sitting position. He spread her knees and settled himself in between her legs, then resumed his frenzied kissing of her. He massaged her waist and hips with his hands, then took hold of the waistband of her knickers and pulled them off, she lifted a bit to help him.

She then pushed his brown pinstriped jacket off of his shoulders, and he let her. It fell to the floor somewhere behind him. He began kissing down her body, until he got close to where she wanted him. He then stopped and looked into her eyes, looking a bit wild. He grabbed both of her thighs with his long fingers and pulled her until she was at the edge of the couch.

Throughout this whole time, he was silent, never saying a word, never making any sounds beyond light moans and groans. He was just looking at her with this...intense, dark look. She stayed silent too, following his lead.

One of his hands started rubbing the inside of her thigh, fingertips teasing her and he looked into her eyes with one of the most intense expressions she had ever seen. He had his whole mind blocked off from hers. She assumed it was because he was afraid of a repeat performance of passing out, this time without the third part of their triad there to help keep an eye on things.

He then kissed her like a man dying of need, and then pulled back, moving his hand up her thigh, watching her eyes, which she was sure were getting wider. The Doctor bent his head down, taking deep breaths that she knew was him smelling her, and kissing up her thigh along the same path his hand had just trailed.

She leaned back into a more comfortable position, preparing for the torture she was sure he'd inflict, but he touched her where she wanted him too the most. It seemed that he wasn't going to torture her. It wasn't long before he had established a rhythm with his tongue and fingers that was sure to send her to her breaking point in what would be record time without telepathy involved.

She tried to make a telepathic connection, maybe to let him feel this as she was feeling it, and he froze for a moment. She sent reassurance to him, and he finally answered the knock. She felt his mind, mostly just his emotions, and she let him feel whatever he wanted, on the surface anyway. He showed the fantasy he had always had about licking her until she screamed, and she relayed the feelings she got from what he was doing to her.

It wasn't very long after that that she felt like she had broken into a million pieces, in a good way. He made moaning noises with her as she cried out her orgasm, and she knew he felt the pleasure too.

After he brought her back down, he pulled his mouth and fingers away from her, and looked back up at her, eyes a bit glassy. The need in his mind overtaking every other emotion she was feeling from him. He stood up and took a step back and she could see that he was very ready to do whatever he wanted to do to her. She reached out and started undoing the zipper of his trousers, and he let her, the trousers pooling at his feet in a heap of brown fabric. He moaned as his erection was set free, but he still wasn't talking. He didn't seem to see a need to remove his trainers. She stood up with him, slowly undoing the buttons of his oxford.

When she got every button undone, she didn't try to remove his shirt, just spread it open so she could run her hands over his chest, down towards his pants and pulled them down. The Doctor stood still, like a breathing statue. If she didn't have the telepathic connection with him, she'd be worried, but she could feel nothing negative towards her, just a fear of himself.

She ran a hand over his temple and tried to send all of her love to him, and her reassurance as well. His eyes shuttered in the pleasure the deeper mental contact gave him.

She dropped her whole self down until she was eye level with his manhood, and his eyes followed her down. She gave him a quick lick, and it was like the dam that was holding him back broke. He suddenly grabbed a handful of her hair and bent down, pulling her head back just enough that he could shove his tongue in her mouth, the taste of herself on his mouth was the strongest flavor now, and her tongue battled for dominance with his.

He pulled back and stood back up, placing himself in front of her again. She took that as a sign to continue doing what she was doing before. She grabbed him, and ran as much of his length as she could into her mouth.

“Rassilon Rose!” He almost shouted, breaking his silent spell. “Oh, oh, You're a bad girl. Good, but bad.” He still had one hand threaded in her hair, and she could tell that he was trying very hard not to control what she was doing, to let her take over everything. She pulled back from him, and stood up. He let out a whimper at the loss.

“Shh, My Doctor, let me take care of you.” She sat him down on the couch and got in front of him, bending over and taking him into her mouth again. He buried both hands in her hair now, murmuring in Gallifreyan with the occasional expletive in any number of languages, his head thrown back at the pleasure.

“Stop,” he suddenly commanded. She immediately let go of him with a pop. He pulled her up to him, so that she had to straddle him, and kissed her. He put one hand on either side of her face and broke away, only to come crashing back. The kisses became hungry little pecks. His hands never leaving her face.

“What do you need?” she asked breathlessly.

“You, just you.”

“I love you.”

“Oh, Rose Tyler, I love you too.” He looked shocked for a moment, as if he didn't expect himself to actually say that, then he grinned a wide, daft grin.

He then rolled her over so that he was on top of her, never once breaking his eyes from hers. His grin still showing, and he exclaimed, “I love you!” She laughed and wrapped her legs around him. Seemingly without any effort on his part, he was lined up with her perfectly. He grabbed her hands and held her down again, and pushed himself into her in one smooth motion.

He wiggled a bit. “Ah, oh, that's brilliant.” Then he claimed her mouth as his own again and started moving. It became a punishing rhythm again, and he was talking the whole time, in the musical sounding Gallifreyan language mostly. She wished she knew what he was saying. Apparently he heard her wish in her mind, because he suddenly switched to English and started telling her how beautiful and brilliant she was, how fantastic she felt around him, and how much he wanted her. Then he went back into Gallifreyan as his breathing became ragged.

As her own orgasm was building, her cries became louder. Both of them around the same time just started breathing the other's name. Then, he fell, and the explosion of pleasure in his mind was the last straw and she followed him into the abyss.

They held onto each other for a few minutes, just being there. She listened to his heartsbeat: da,da,dum,dum, da,da,dum,dum.

She was wore out, and he could feel it. “Time to bed for the human,” he said, rubbing her back.

“Don't wanna, an' 'M not 'uman anymore,” she reminded him.

“Yes, you are, Rose, no matter what your bioscans say, you are thoroughly human in all the places it counts.”

Those words made her very happy. She lifted her head up and looked him in the face. He gave her a soft smile, then a nudge. She got up and picked up the pieces of her kit up. She yawned and shot him a look not to say anything about sleeping her life away, and trudged down the hallway, to her room, where his other self waited.

She cleaned herself up and got dressed in her night clothes, then climbed into bed with her part human Doctor. He shifted a little, closer to her and mumbled something in his sleep.

 _“Goodnight, my Rose”_ She heard in her mind, just before she went to sleep.


	25. Allons-y

The Doctor woke up with a warm weight wrapped around him. Sometime during the 'night,' she had come to bed with him and decided that he needed a Rose shaped blanket. Or that she needed a Doctor shaped body pillow. Either way, the result was the same. Her head was on his chest, the top of her head just under his chin close enough that he couldn't look down at her without hitting her with his chin. Her arm was wrapped around his waist, hugging him close, and her leg thrown over his waist. 

He realized that he was trapped, unless he wanted to wake her up, which he didn't. Not that he minded, exactly. He laid there for a moment, content, happy, her mind a buzz at the back of his. Normally, he couldn't feel her unless he was trying to, but with them touching so much, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of her emotions. She was having a really good dream, apparently. He smiled at that. 

He could also feel his counterpart, currently working on wiring. The man was actually singing. Apparently, the TARDIS had thought that they didn't need the telepathic blocking anymore, the loss of which he was pretty sure was the cause of his very detailed 'dream' the night before. 

Rose stirred, mumbling something about hands, then settled back down again. Her head was lower on his chest now, her ear right over his heart. It was where her leg was that was causing the trouble. It had moved down a bit when she did. Until this point, he had been able to keep himself under control with no problem, but did she have to wiggle against him there? 

The feeling in his mind that came from her changed, became brighter, and he realized that she was waking up. She moaned and wiggled again, then clenched his side. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and lifted her head, looking at him with not quite focused eyes. 

“Morning,” he greeted her with a small smile.

“Mornging,” she slurred, not quite in reality. She reached up, rubbed her eyes, and groaned. She then blinked twice, her eyes finally focused on the Doctor. “Morning Doctor,” she properly greeted him, finally awake. She then realized that she was practically laying on top of him, pinning him to the mattress, and quickly got off of him. “Sorry about that,” she apologized, looking a bit embarrassed.

He grinned at her. “Great way to wake up, really,” he told her, then asked, “Sleep well?”

“I did actually.” She stretched and yawned, then glanced back at him. “My pillow was a bit hard, though.” 

“Oi!” He leaned up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back down against him, then started tickling her. 

She was laughing hard. “No! Don't!” she yelled when she could get a breath, but he didn't let up for a minute. When he stopped to let her catch her breath, she hit him with a pillow. She got out of the bed properly, before he could pull her back down and went to her wardrobe to choose something to wear.

“So, did you work on the coral last night?” he asked her. He sat up on the edge of the bed, reached over to the table next to the bed, and grabbed his glasses. 

“Yeah, we did,” she replied. “I was treated to a lecture on huon particles and how they interact with artron energy, and why I was able to save the little one and be able to 'elp her grow even faster.”

Because of the huon and artron in you,” the Doctor stated. He noticed a spec on his specs and cleaned it off with the hem of the pajama shirt he was wearing. 

“Yeah. After we took care of the coral, and the lecture, then we made fun of archaeologists for a while.”

“Ah, those documentaries are always great for a laugh,” the Doctor reminisced. He thought archaeologists were funny. They got so many things so wrong.

"And, um-"

The door to her room opened and revealed his counterpart, who leaned against the door frame with his hands in his pockets and grinned at the sight before him. “Good, you're both up!”

“Someone's bored,” Rose teased.

“There's plenty of stuff to do, I'm not 'bored',” he scoffed.

“Yes, you are,” both Rose and the Doctor that was still sitting on the bed retorted. 

The dual hearted Doctor mumbled something in a low enough voice that even the part Human Doctor, who still had his Time Lord hearing, couldn't hear.

“What was that?” he teased him, holding a hand to his ear.

Rose laughed at the both of them, shaking her head. She stepped into her en suite, calling out, “Bored or not, 'm not goin' anywhere until I have caffeine!”

“Breakfast is ready,” the brown suited Doctor told the pajama clad one, who nodded and made his way to the door, passing his twin. When he got in the hallway, the full Time Lord followed him, closing the door to Rose's room behind him. He then grabbed the part human Doctor's shoulder, stopping him from going on any further. What did he think he was doing? It was obvious he was trying to do something. He thought that this behavior was behind- wait. His other self had a half smile, the corners of his eyes crinkled. He swallowed and put his hands back in his pockets.

“Thank you,” he almost whispered.

“For what?” 

“For the kick in the pants,” he said simply. “It took a better man than me to show me how to love her right.”

He hated it when it was insinuated that he was anything other than the Doctor. “I am you,” he reminded his other self, in a dark voice. 

“No, you're not, not really,” his other self replied softly. “Well, not anymore. Not any more than we are Ol' Big Ears, or Mr Darcy, the Professor, or Mr Grumpy Technicolor Clown... Well, you get the drift,” he said with a hand wave. “Anyway, I'm not sure I would have ever...” he trailed off.

“Gotten your head outta your arse?” he supplied, helpfully.

He nodded. “If it hadn't have been for you.” the Doctor with two hearts admitted. “It's like you said, I'll never be you.” he finished his thoughts. 

“Well, I'll give you a kick in the pants any time you need it,” he told the man he used to be cheekily. “Or anywhere else you need it, gladly.” 

“That doesn't mean I don't still hate you,” the Time Lord told him with a sniff.

He rolled his eyes at that. “Yeah, well, I'm not too fond of you myself.” 

They turned and went their separate ways.

XxXxXxXx

Rose had just finished her makeup when her mobile rang in the bedroom. She picked the phone out of her jacket pocket, looked at the screen, and answered it. “'Ello, you've reached the good ship TARDIS, How may we help you?”

 _“Hello, Gorgeous,”_ came the flirty voice of Jack Harkness. 

“Hello, yourself, Handsome,” she flirted right back. 

_“Still thorough with the hellos, I see.”_

She smiled at the memory. “Of course, though this time I can't even see you at all.”

They both laughed together.

“What's up, Jack?” she asked.

 _“Oh, you know, just wondering about you, decided to give you a call.”_ he said, nonchalantly.

“And?” Rose prompted.

_“And, I was wondering if those old men had danced with you yet.”_

She laughed. “Old men? You're twice their age!”

 _“Be that as it may...”_ he glossed over that fact, _“you still owe me detailed details.”_

“And what if we 'aven't danced yet?”

 _“Oh, but I know you have, I can hear it in your voice,”_ he sing song-ed. _“Go on, shagging a telepath everything I told you it was?”_

“Weellll-” she started.

 _“I knew it!”_ she could practically see him pumping his fist in the air. _“Which one!”_

“Mmmm,” she hummed, “Maybe a lady shouldn't shag an' tell.” 

_“Well, it's a good thing you've never been a lady.”_

“Oi! Jack!”

He just laughed on the other end of the line.

“Both, then the brown one again after the blue one went to bed,” she admitted, letting as much of her grin go into her voice as possible. 

_“Way to go Rosie, I thought it would have been the other way around,”_ he said, surprised.

“I thought it would 'ave been too,” she agreed. 

_“Wait a minute, both?”_ he asked, like he had a sudden revelation. _“As in, together?”_ He had drawn out the last word. 

“Oh, yeah. Took ya long enough to realize that, Harkness, you're slippin'.”

_“Thank you, God, my prayers have been answered!”_

“I thought your prayers included you in....” They spent a few more minutes talking, Rose gave a few details, nothing too involved, she'd save the detailed details for later. She left her room and walked to the galley, where she saw the Time Lord dishing out plates. “Later, Jack. I've gotta 'ave my breakfast now.”

_“Later, Doll. Love ya.”_

“Love ya too, Jack.” she hung up and turned to the Doctor, who was watching her with a funny look on his face. “What?”

“Nothing,” he denied, shiftily. He was such a bad liar. 

Realization dawned on her “Oh, I get it.” This was that possessiveness coming out again. 

“Get what? There's nothing to get. Absolutely nothing needing to be got.” He then came over and gave her a deep kiss. No lead up to it. She had told Jack that she loved him, so he was making sure she knew that she belonged to him, well, both of him. It was the same response the part human Doctor had when Jack gave her that kiss in the Hub. He pushed her against the counter, hands wrapping around her back-.

“I didn't realize that Rose was breakfast,” they heard from the door. The Doctor pulled back quickly and returned to what he was doing. Both of them looked at the part human Doctor, who was standing there with a cheeky grin. “Now there's a meal I'd eat all day, but not enough calories, you think?”

He came over and kissed her, quickly, but passionately. She could taste the traces of Venusian spearmint from his toothpaste. He pulled back, then gave her a soft, playful nip on the nose. “Yep. Pleasing, but decidedly not enough calories,” he teased. He then went and sat down in the booth, pulling out some bits from his jacket and started fumbling with them. 

The Doctor handed her a couple of plates, laden with sausage, toast, eggs, and hash browns. Some of it was odd colors, meaning it wasn't Earth origin, but she wasn't going to ask where they were from, or what they were made of. There were many Earth foods she didn't want to know about. The Doctor not only knew her tastes, but knew what was safe and not to eat, so she'd trust him. She still wanted her milk to be from Earth cows, or close enough she couldn't tell otherwise. There had to be a line somewhere, and that was it. 

“No tinkering while we're eating,” she chided the Doctor in the blue suit when she put his plate down next to the capacitors and slipped into the booth. She picked up her fork and started eating her hash browns as the Doctor wearing brown slid in next to her so that she was in the middle again. 

The part human Doctor said something under his breath that she didn't quite catch. The Time Lord next to her did hear what his other self had to say and chuckled a bit. Rose just gave them both a mock glare, not sure she wanted to know.

A little over half an hour later, they were all completely finished breakfast and talking. “...No, no, that's not possible! It's impossible!” They had just told her that Jack told him that he was once known as The Face of Boe.

“Evidence suggests that he likely is,” the Doctor wearing blue told Rose. 

But he's well over 2,000 years old, and he doesn't look any older. Maybe has had some work done, but... No, it can't be,” she denied.

“I thought you didn't believe in impossible?” The Time Lord teased her.

“If everything's possible, is it possible for something to be impossible?” Rose asked him after a moment.

“Ooh, a paradoxical statement, nice one,” he praised. He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her, then got up and walked to the open doorway of the galley. Before the Doctor walked through the opening, he turned around and announced, “We're gonna try the randomizer again. We didn't exactly get to run yesterday, did we?” He turned and disappeared out the door. If his predatory grin and the smile that actually reached his eyes was any indication, he was happy with what happened the day before. 

When he was gone, Rose turned to the Doctor that she was still sitting with. “I think I may have created a monster!” she exclaimed.

He paused in his examination of a...thing (whatever it was, she could see resistors and capacitors), and looked at her over his glasses, which were set low on his nose. When his eyes met hers, he burst out laughing. This got her to laughing as well.

“It's the bond,” he told her, while putting the bits and bobs now strung out over half the table back into the pockets of his blue suit jacket. He then elaborated, “Your bond with him was set during an...intimate moment.” He pushed his glasses back up his nose and continued, “Until it's settled, you both will be...more...amorous than usual.” 

“Ah,” Rose replied. “That explains a bit.” She thought for a moment, then asked him, “Is that okay?”

His left eyebrow raised a bit, and he asked her, “Why wouldn't it be?”

“I, just..um, well I don't want you to feel left out...of, well, anything,” she finally got out. “I don't know what I'm doing here,” she admitted.

None of us exactly know what we're doing here. But don't worry, we'll figure it out,” he assured her. “I don't feel left out of anything. It's just that...” He looked unsure for a moment, and Rose felt like her heart dropped.

“What is it?” she prompted him.

“Well, when your link with him is settled, I'd like to have a deeper link as well. I really have nothing left to teach you, you're doing brilliant with the telepathy, and, um, I'd like to do it before our current bond morphs on it's own.”

“A bond can do that?” she asked, surprised. 

“Yeah, apparently. I can feel our bond trying to change. It's something I'm learning about too. I figure it's because we're a lot more than student and teacher.”

“Oh, well, that's no problem, we can do that, as soon as possible,” she told him.

He looked happier after that. When he finished putting all of the bots and bobs in his suit jacket, he stood up and held his hand out to her. She took it and left the galley with him.

“Give me a minute, I need to do something,” she said. 

He followed her to the lab where the baby TARDIS was being kept. The little one was looking healthier.

“Good morning gorgeous, how are we doing this morning?” Rose cooed to the bit of coral, which gave a light golden sheen at the sound of her voice. 

“Good.” She reached in to the tank and gave the coral a light stroke with her index finger, it glowed again for just a moment, then settled back down. 

The Doctor then checked everything to make sure it was all just right, and then they left, to go to the console room.

While they were walking to the console room, it occurred to her that they had effectively managed to make her completely forget about what she had just learned about Jack. But she was still not sure that they were the same person. How exactly would Jack turn into a giant floating telepathic head with tentacles in a jar? She wouldn't worry about it for now, at least not yet, not until she got some confirmation other than a random sentence Jack had said.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she entered the console room and saw the Time Lord Doctor standing there, bouncing impatiently. “Took you long enough! I've already set everything up.” He then began running around the console, pulling and pushing levers, hitting buttons and pumping. It occurred to her that she was going to have to get them to teach her about flying the TARDIS. 

The TARDIS shook and landed with a jolt, though no one fell this time, and the three of them stood there for a moment, grins all around.

Rose glanced at one of them, and then looked at the other Doctor. “It is dangerous?” she asked mischievously. 

“Probably,” The Time Lord replied, trying and failing to maintain a serious look. 

“Lots of running?” she questioned with a grin.

“Almost definitely,” the Doctor wearing blue answered.

“Then what are we doing standing around here like a bunch of scared newbies for?” Rose questioned, walking down to the doors toward adventure. 

“Allons-y!”

XxXxXxXx  
Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'd like to take a moment here to say thanks to everyone who reviewed this, favored it, followed it, etc.
> 
> A/N2: Another thing, this isn't the end of the universe. I've got more stuff laid out and almost ready to write.


End file.
